


Arms of a Stranger

by DaughterOfDanu



Category: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 17
Words: 56,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22607671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaughterOfDanu/pseuds/DaughterOfDanu
Summary: Yun Fang was always a survivor. Emancipated from her biological parents at a young age, the girl changed her name and became one of the top rising stars in track and field. As a long-distance runner, she was the one to beat, and when Fang set her sights on setting a record, you could bet she'd make it happen.Considered an overachiever, Fang branched out into martial arts and any other subject that piqued her interest. She was determined not to be held back or confined, even in her personal life. When she set her mind on something, she went after it. That was until the car accident that took everything away.If it hadn't been for the kindness of a stranger, Fang swore she wouldn't have made it. But will the bitterness of defeat keep her from finding this stranger? Will self-pity prevent her from seeing a guiding light before her eyes? Or will she succumb to self-pity and truly lose everything?
Relationships: Lightning/Oerba Yun Fang
Comments: 16
Kudos: 78





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the next story, as stated before this will be a little darker than the previous stories. There will be references and nods to the FFXIII game, and outside of a few familiar characters, that is about the extent of the relationship to the game. The story will eventually become Flight, and it will contain some pretty intense situations that may not be so comfortable for either character. Real-life is not comfortable, nor is it kind and life lessons are sometimes very difficult to learn.
> 
> Warning: We will be delving into Fang's past and it will contain violence, alcohol, drugs and attempted sexual abuse. I will give warnings at the beginning when we reach those chapters. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and commenting. And a big thank you to LongMaxSilver for all your help and collaboration!

She was running, she was always running, even in her dreams. In her childhood, she ran to play and have fun, as she grew older and more aware, she ran from the pain. The pain of the beatings, the pain of her parents drinking and drugging, and the pain of what was to come. Maybe her ancestors were trying to tell her something, but she hadn’t listened, not in the way she should have. The last time she ran from her parents, was the first time that someone touched her without her permission. She ran and ran and never looked back. She would never let anyone take anything from her again unless she let them.

She’d run so far that she left her name behind, left the reality of her situation. Hell, she’d run so far that her mind never had time to deal with the reality of her past and skewed her view of life. But you’d never tell her that, never convince her that you can’t run fast enough to leave the truth behind, it always catches up with you in the end. Always.

In her dreams she ran, she ran from ever-encroaching darkness that threatened to devour her. She ran toward the light, the only source of hope she saw in the sea of darkness. A shape that changed over the years and grew as she did. Was it a sign from the Great Spirit, was it her ancestors? She’d run because she liked it, but in her dreams, she ran because she felt warmth and love coming at her and as fast as she ran, the light forever escaped her.

***

Fang woke in a sweat, it was the same dream, the same one for years. Elements changed, but the basis of the nightmare stayed the same. All that love and warmth, it was waiting for her, calling her but she could never reach it. She was proud of her heritage, of who she was and what she’d become. But, as far as spirituality went, Fang hadn’t really paid much attention to the Great Spirit, to Grandfather, in a long time. She used to talk to him as a child, was so devoted and dedicated, but that had all changed as she grew older, angrier, and sadder. It was a sadness so deep, that it was hidden by the anger. 

She wouldn’t be able to sleep now, she never could after such dreams. Quietly, Fang rolled over to see the naked body next to her. She watched his sleeping face, marveled at how strong even in his sleep he appeared. She’d found love, so, why did she have this recurring dream? After the New York marathon, they would be married and finally start that family they’d been talking about for the last year. She’d wanted a family and they’d both laughed at the idea of their children following in their footsteps, an entire family of runners. 

Fang reached out and lightly traced her fiance’s jaw. Jesse was ruggedly handsome, almost like he should be a lumberjack instead of a distance runner. But his physique belied his facial appearance, he was all runner. With dark hair and the darkest blue eyes, and the brunette was a sucker for blue eyes, he was an attractive man. And the man wasn’t just looks, he was intelligent and ambitious. Jesse was a real go-getter if he wanted something, he pursued it until he had it. 

Fang had been one of those pursuits, and Jesse could be unrelenting. At first, the brunette had ignored him, she was accustomed to men chasing her, and she frankly found it rather annoying. She knew that she was aesthetically pleasing to the eye by most people’s standards, but there was more to life than looks. Besides, beauty often faded just like health and everything else the older you got, so Fang never saw the logic in pursuing temporary things. 

But Jesse did not just come right out and try to charm her or schmooze her with his good looks, he’d actually tried engaging her in conversations that were not superficial. Finally, after several attempts, Fang had at last given the man a chance to get to know her and as it turned out, she had been grateful she had. And the more they both got to know each other, the more it turned out they had in common. 

Jesse had come from a small family, an only child. He was environmentally cautious, participated in a lot of charities and was very savvy when it came to dealing in matters of business. He had been a self-promoter, not relying upon a middle man to deal with matters that he conducted whether it was charity work, a high-profile race, or any kind of business venture. The man could be charming, quick-witted, funny, down to earth and very romantic when the mood hit him. 

The only issue they had ever had in their relationship was Fang’s reluctance to really talk about her childhood. The brunette had simply replied it had been a mixture of the good with the bad and the past was better left in the past. Apparently, it had been enough for Jesse to drop the discussion and move on to the present and where they were headed from there. 

“Three more months...” Fang whispered in his ear as she softly kissed his cheek.

“Then we can start our family.” She finished.

Jesse rolled over, grasping Fang by her waist to tug her back to bed. There was a smile on his face, as the brunette squirmed to getaway. 

“You’re going running aren’t you?”Jesse sighed.

“Yeah, I was going to see if you wanted to join me.”

Jesse finally cracked an eye open to look at Fang.

“What time is it?”

“Five am on the dot. You could let me finish teaching you some Tai Chi moves and then we can go running.”

“How about you start with your Tai Chi and by the time you're done I’ll be up and ready for a morning run?”

Fang shook her head with a smile.

“Your loss.” The brunette replied as she walked toward the bathroom.

“You’re obsessive Fang! What are you going to do when we have children and you can’t just go running or do Tai Chi? You need to start thinking about it, or you’ll go crazy!” Jesse hollered after her. 

Fang loved Tai Chi, it was a great way to calm the mind and find peace and serenity. It required her to shut out the rest of the world and concentrate on her breathing and movements. She’d always had a difficult time clearing her mind in the beginning, not understanding what the issue was. But then she’d met Jesse and that had changed, so the brunette never questioned it. 

By the time Fang had finished her morning session, she was fully stretched and prepared for a run. Jesse had joined her just as she was tying the laces to her running shoes, still looking a bit sleepy. In moments like these, you could never tell that he was an ambitious and driven individual. The contrast tickled Fang’s humor to no end, and she often took moments like these to tease him. 

“Sure you’re up to this?” Fang said with a quick kiss.

“Once we start running, I’ll wake up.” 

The couple were out the door and down the road, California was a great place to live if you wanted to run. As long as forest fires were at a minimum and it wasn’t a downpour of rain or snowfall in the mountains, you had beautiful weather almost year-round. The only caveat to that however was, you really needed to live outside of the smog-filled areas of the bigger cities like L.A. And Fang and her fiance were not big fans of the city and industrial pollution anyway, so they’d made a temporary home in Idyllwild. 

Jesse worked from their home as an aspiring architect and Fang was a graduate in civil and environmental engineering. But running in the Grizzly Peak race had been where they had first met, finding out that they both attended the University of California had come later. After bumping into each other at several of the races held in Berkeley, the two runners began talking and discovered that they had a lot in common. 

It wasn’t long before the two started dating and began talking about what they were pursuing in life. The idea of the family had been what had sealed the deal for them both and even though they had moved in together, plans were already in the making for the wedding. In the meantime, the two focused on graduating and building up the “ideal” situation for their future family. 

There was nothing like an early morning run to get the blood pumping and feel alive, especially when it was in nature. Fang felt at her best on days like this, and she frankly couldn’t think of a better way to start each morning. With Jesse working at home on some environmental designs for work, Fang concentrated on looking for a job. As reluctant as she was to have to go into Los Angeles, more opportunities awaited her than around the area she lived. 

But the trip into L.A. today was the furthest thing from her mind as she and Jesse ran along the trails. Fang would occasionally sneak a peek at her fiance, watching the blissful look settle on his face as they conducted their morning routine. By the time they were back home, it was a quick shower and onto business. 

Jesse had settled himself behind his work desk with a glass of milk and a bagel with peanut butter. They had both already had a banana and an energy bar before the run for the added boost of energy, so breakfast was a simple meal to keep their protein intake up for the day. He had just settled when Fang walked by the doorway, causing him to pause with the bagel half-way to his mouth and whistle low. 

Fang paused, leaning back to poke her head into the room and smirked at the look on Jesse’s face. An appreciative gaze ran over the woman’s attire as the bagel was forgotten. One thing Jesse could say about Fang, it didn’t matter if she looked exotic and wild or exotic and business-like, the woman cut a distinct appearance. She was beautiful, no matter what she wore.

“Maybe you should wear that more often.” 

Fang laughed.

“You wear a pencil skirt all day long and then we’ll talk.”

“Gladly, only, I think no one would take me seriously after that. Drive safely, I’m not fond of you going into L.A. with that crazy traffic.”

Fang sauntered into the room and gave her fiance a kiss.

“Always. I’ll be home this evening. Want me to bring you anything?”

“Just you,” Jesse replied with a smile, earning another kiss.

The trip was as expected, traffic was always a nightmare in L.A., but it was the industrial mess and smog that bothered the brunette the most. Luckily, the place she was interviewing at was on the edge of the big city and the distance runner would bypass the biggest mess of highway and interstate travel. 

Fang’s initial interview had gone well and the brunette was in high spirits when she’d walked to her car. She’d called Jesse to inform him they would be contacting her for a date and time for a second interview, a positive sign she was a strong contender for the job. On the way home, traffic had come to a standstill and there was no way to avoid the long wait. A quick call to her fiance informed him that she would be home a lot later than they had anticipated.

Fang had literally waited in her car for hours for traffic to finally start creeping forward. It turned out that there had been an oversized rig that had jackknifed on the road, delaying traffic until they could get the semi-upright and removed. There was no sense in complaining, you were stuck until the situation was resolved. Needless to say, tempers were often already at a boiling point for some drivers when vehicles finally began to move.

Already delayed, Fang decided to take an alternative route to avoid the congestion that would not slow down anytime soon. Twilight had already overtaken the skies as the brunette signaled and moved over to the exit. Tired from sitting idle and waiting, she never saw the semi that came barreling down upon her car. The brunette’s mind just barely registered the impact and the feeling of being airborne before everything became black. 

****

“Earth to Claire, come in Claire,” Serah replied from the doorway.

Claire, who had been slumped over a desk staring at a magazine blinked and turned to regard her younger sister.

“Don’t you think you should be going home and getting some rest... _ Doctor Farron _ ?” Her younger sister implied with emphasis. 

“I’m technically still a resident Serah, and when have you known any intern or resident to amass large amounts of sleep?”

Serah sauntered over to the desk and peered down at the magazine her sister seemed to have been so engaged in. 

“ _ Women’s Running Magazine,  _ wow, who’s the good looking brunette on the cover? And isn’t this magazine a little slow for your speed?” Serah inquired.

Claire laughed.

“The  _ good looking  _ woman is Fang, she’s a marathon runner and they don’t really have a magazine strictly for sprinter’s Serah.”

“But that’s not the one I’ve usually seen you read.”

“No, but…”

“You saw the attractive looking woman on the front and got it.” Serah finished.

Lightning sighed and rubbed her temples.

“No, it’s not, Serah and to answer your question, yes, I did pick it up because of the cover.”

It was the closest thing Serah would get out of her sister in acknowledgment that she’d been lured in by the beautiful woman on the cover. But, she didn’t really care why her sister had picked it up, to begin with, she was more concerned that she had picked it up at all.

“I know that look Serah Farron, and I’m fine. Talk about calling your older sister out, yes, yes, I did pick it up solely because of the woman on the cover. It has nothing to do with running, I’m fine, I swear to you on our parent’s graves.”

Serah took a moment to really regard her sister and saw that Claire was being genuine with her. It wasn’t that her older sister was a liar, quite the contrary, but after the accident, she kept her emotions tightly concealed. 

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing. So, what’s the story with her?” Serah indicated to the picture of Fang.

“She’s a distance runner, evidently a very good one at that, she’s going to be at the New York marathon. According to the article, Fang, which is her name, is the one to beat if you’re looking at setting a record time.”

“Wow, that good, reminds me of a sprinter I once knew.” The younger sister replied fondly as she wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck. 

Lightning barked a tender laugh.

“A few years ago maybe, but I highly doubt that now. And besides, the leg disqualifies me anyway, puts me at an advantage over other runners.” 

“So, this Fang, has she been running a long time?”

“Most of her life according to the interview. She said she’s always loved running and that she can’t remember a time when she didn’t.”

Serah smiled and gave her sister a knowing look.

“Are you sure her name isn’t Lightning? I mean, change a few things around from what you’ve told me and it sounds like the speed demon herself.”

“Don’t you have a shift to finish, Ms. Farron?” Claire replied with a raised eyebrow.

“All done, I came to see if you were ready to go home, maybe grab something on the way for dinner,” Serah answered.

“So, what else does it say about your twin?” 

“Very funny,” Claire said with a mock glare.

“It doesn’t say a lot. Fang doesn’t talk about her personal life. As long as they’re talking about running, the woman is a peach from what the writer says, but if you try and ask her anything personal, she’ll end the interview.” 

“And if you say one more thing Serah, about her being just like me, I’m stitching your lips closed!”

Serah giggled and when she did, it always amused Claire. Her younger sister never laughed, it was always a giggle in her older sister’s mind and to her ears. And the very thought of it made Claire laugh thinking of a giggling 80 year old sister. 

“Something about her being like you bothers you, doesn’t it?”

Claire sighed and rubbed her leg. It had become an unconscious habit when she thought about the accident and about who she had been then.

“I’m lucky Serah, I learned some tough lessons early in life. Lightning is a fitting name for who I was and not just because of the uncanny speed.  _ Lightning, it flashes bright and fades away, it can’t protect, it only destroys _ . It is a fitting truth to life and an appropriate name for who I was becoming.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit Claire, I don’t think you would have gone down that path as much as you might think,” Serah replied.

“Besides, it’s only one leg, it’s not like both of them are advanced tech limbs.”

Claire stood, you’d never know that she’d lost a leg, not even if the young woman was wearing shorts. She’d been lucky, it was new technology and completely experimental, the process could have turned out horribly wrong. It had made her feel in a way like the million-dollar woman, but the truth was more like a billion dollars. 

The former sprinter had placed her life on the line for experimental surgery and it had paid out rather well. Claire truly counted her blessings that she’d been at the right place at the right time. The experience had given her the desire to become an orthopedic surgeon and lobby the company that had given her, for lack of a better term, the bionic leg. But it was not to make millions for the company, no, the young woman wanted to petition for a cheaper way for others to qualify for implants. 

It would be a challenging road, but one she was willing to take for the benefit of others. In the meantime, Claire was more interested in grabbing dinner, heading home and heading to bed. 

“Come on nurse Farron, let’s go get some food and get out of here for a few hours.”

“Whatever you say, Dr. Farron,” Serah replied with a giggle. 

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire and Serah are headed home, but they're in for a surprise as they head out of the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up everyone, I am obviously not a medical doctor or professional. The idea is to tell the story and give as much realism to the drama as would be in real life. With that being said, this is in no way medically correct. There was time spent just reading about common injuries in car accidents and phenomena such as people having an awareness during surgery or natural resistance to anesthesia. Those facts along with some old combat medic training in were mixed in with the hope to add some realism.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and commenting. Enjoy!

“Claire, we really need to consider moving closer to the city. I know you hate it, but this traffic is awful. We haven’t moved in over an hour! I’m just glad we picked up take out, at least we can eat while we wait.”

The elder sister in question was watching people talking and playing music while they waited for whatever issue was causing the traffic jam. It was a normal sight in California around the bigger cities, especially Los Angeles. Only, this wasn’t always the case on the route the two sisters normally took. 

Claire took a chopstick full of noodles as she pondered what sort of accident or event was taking place this far outside of the city limits. Once she’d properly chewed and swallowed, she turned to Serah and the exasperated look on her younger sister’s face. 

“What happened to transferring to a smaller hospital, somewhere along the coast?”

“Impatience. The traffic is such a pain and it means less sleep and more time on the road. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to live in the big city.”

Serah sighed.

“I still want that, but you have several more years of residency. I’m not complaining about you Claire, I’m glad we were born with mom and dad’s intelligence and aptitude for the medical field. It almost seems like cheating that we’ve breezed right through school years ahead of our peers. But the commute is murder, we spend most of our time at work or in the car and I would like to have a life. I mean, even if it means living in the city until we can move away.”

Claire watched the emotions play along her sister’s face. Serah lost the most when their parents died, and if she had died, her baby sister would have been all alone. The thought of Serah being an orphan nearly made the noodles she was eating catch in her throat with all the emotions. 

“I’m sorry Serah, you’re right.”

Claire set her chopsticks back into the takeout carton and gazed out into the mess of traffic. It would be more expensive, but it wasn’t as if they were needing the money. Her parents had left them a hefty inheritance in their passing. Both their parents had become top surgeons in their fields and they’d become pretty wealthy. The money had not meant anything to either daughter, they would have traded it back for their parents without a thought. 

“When we get home, we’ll start a search for apartments. I can look into housing for the hospital and see if there are any vacancies. Then we can call a realtor and see about renting out the house.”

“Seriously?!” Serah whooped!

Claire laughed. “Yes, seriously.”

Twenty minutes later and traffic finally started to move and Serah was talking more animatedly to her sister. Hospital housing would be the best solution for them and they had both been offered it a year ago, but Claire had a difficult time thinking about being away from their parent’s home.

It wasn’t as if she’d lived there her entire life, but after the accident, Claire had not been in the emotional state to remain in her own apartment. At the time, her girlfriend had been living with her, and things had come to an ugly end. Shortly after that bad break-up, Claire had been in an accident with her parents. This had all happened so closely together, that the eldest Farron daughter wanted to be home, the closest place she could be to feel her parents presence. 

When the cars in front of them finally started to inch forward, Claire handed her food to her sister and peered up at the overpass. The backlog was coming from somewhere above on the freeway and vehicles had been exiting off the ramp to avoid the wait. Unfortunately, when that started to happen, traffic was affected elsewhere. 

“Once we pass under the freeway, we’ll be past the worst of it.”

“So close, yet so far away.” Serah giggled. 

Claire had never put too much thought into the science behind a collision, especially after having been in one herself. Her parent’s car hadn’t gone airborne, but perhaps if it had they might have had a better chance given the circumstances of the crash. It may sound crazy, but some scenarios were less deadly than others. If a person was told that a crash was unavoidable, but had the truth of science at their disposal to choose the least fatal outcome, don’t you think they’d take it?

But in that fraction of time her mind would be anywhere but the science of such things, as a car plunged from the freeway in their direction. The young woman was all action as she attempted to minimize the injury to herself and Serah. 

“Oh my god, Claire!”

Serah’s words were muffled by the buzzing of memory and the need to stay focused as chaos erupted all around them. The flying car in question, impacted with a loud crash, toppling over on another car. People were screaming as car tires squealed, and more metal crashed against numerous cars. Suddenly, the sisters found themselves in a real life emergency only thankfully it wasn’t them. It was a selfish and callous feeling to be sure, but it was also full of gratitude.

The commuters headed home from work were lucky that traffic had barely started to move, or this would have been a lot worse. The first thing Claire did was look over to her sister, checking to make sure she was alright. It was a miracle that they hadn’t been hit by another vehicle and that apparently everyone else had been paying attention to the sudden flying vehicle as well. 

“Are you hurt?” 

“No, are you?”

“I’m fine Serah.”

“No, not completely.” 

Her younger sister replied as she reached over and covered her older sister’s shaking hands. It would have been easy to push her sister’s hands away, but Serah had been there for her through the whole mess with her several years ago and had dealt with more than enough of her crass behavior. She didn’t deserve that, instead, Claire gave her a thankful look and squeezed a hand.

“Call it in, I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“I will be careful, I won’t be far behind you”. 

Like her old running namesake, Claire was out of the car like a bolt of lightning, assessing the situation as she went. The closer she drew toward the vehicle that had started this new mess, she realized that it lay precariously along the other vehicle. Her mind barely registered the vanity plates that read “High Wind”. But it did flash a thought of, “Yes, you sure did.”

True to her word, Serah was practically on her heels, stopping by cars and asking if they were alright or in need of medical attention. Triaging as they went, the biggest and immediate concern was the people that were in the cars actually involved in the accident. Although her younger sister had asked a few of the passengers closest to the accident if they needed help, she had already come alongside her older sister as they stopped at the car from the freeway.

From the angle of impact, the car had nearly nosedived at an angle into traffic from above. The front end of the car was pushed up so much into the cab of the vehicle, Claire was afraid this was going to be a DOA for sure. How the vehicle hadn’t just landed upside down on top of the other car was amazing, instead, it seemed to be laying on dangerously on its side on part of the vehicle it had hit. 

“Claire, what are you doing? That car looks like it’s going to fall to the asphalt. Don’t be foolish.”

Her older sister cautiously went up to the driver’s side, which was hanging in mid-air. The airbag looked as if it had deployed and burst, the driver's side window was covered in blood splatter near the front door frame and the steering wheel had the victim pinned up against the seat. In reality, the entire front end of the car seemed to have pinned her in, but just how badly, Claire couldn’t tell. It wasn’t until she got a good look at the face of the driver, that Serah’s sister paled and it was noticeable to her younger sister.

“Claire, are you okay?”

“The driver…”

Serah stepped up next to her sister and noticed immediately what had caused her sister to pale. It was the very woman she was teasing Claire about early. This Fang woman, the marathon runner and in that instance, the irony hit them both with a sickening sense of life.

“She doesn’t look to be breathing…”

Claire surveyed their surroundings. It felt like a long time had passed since leaving their car, but it had only been a few minutes. And both sisters knew that life or death could be decided within seconds of an accident like this. Picking up on what was going through her sister’s mind, Serah answered her.

“No severe injuries, just a few shaken up people and damage to vehicles. The driver of this car is surprisingly fine.”

Looking at the car, had the driver been a fraction of a second slower in moving, they would definitely be looking at more severe injuries. With that assessment, Claire made a decision, foolish or not. 

“You can’t be serious Claire?! It’s the first thing they teach you in medicine. If the situation causes harm to others, don’t attempt it. You’ll be putting others in danger for one person.”

“No, only myself. Get the others clear. I’ll try and get the door open.”

As the seconds ticked, Serah cleared people away from the incident, but when she returned she had several more follow her back.

“Serah! I…”

“These men wanted to help, they know the risks.”

Claire nodded and the men quickly went to work to brace the car to keep it from falling while the two sisters went about getting the door open. Be it luck, an act of god or all of the above, all the medical knowledge that the young resident contained within her mind went through at speeds of light and fear sunk into her belly. Was it the fear of never being able to save anyone in a car crash, or the loss of her parents in one and her survival? Whatever the cause, Serah barely came up beside her sister when the door was yanked open and Fang was laying on the ground, nearly cradled in her older sister’s arms.

The two sisters went about their training and quickly began CPR, as the initial assessment was that it was the most immediate need to remedy. Everything for Claire seemed to slow down from the moment she tore the door from its hinges. It was like she was alive for the first time in her life and she was just now aware of the world around her. 

“I’ve got a pulse!” Serah shouted.

Claire leaned down and felt the soft whisper of air pass across her cheek. She was still in the “zone” and ticking through her training like a seasoned doctor. Serah was right there with her, confident in the actions she took. They worked well together, something they would reflect on long after the drama of the day.

Once Fang was breathing again on her own, the brunette’s head was elevated to the best of their ability under current circumstances. The head was so vascular that it always looked like a macabre horror movie with the amount of blood present. The marathon runner had done a number on her head, split it to the bone. Swelling was already setting in, and that caused problems of its own. And then the last of the visible injuries were the woman’s legs that had been pinned by the mangled metal, it hit too close to home.

By the time reality rocked Claire from the clinical world of her job, medics were there to fly the woman to the hospital. She gave them a list of injuries and let the paramedics take over. Serah could see the exhaustion start to take over and steered her sister back to the car. As much as she knew her older sister to be one to want to follow up on this, the younger made an executive decision and took her home. 

Shortly after arriving, the two ambled out of the car and to the available bathrooms for a shower and straight to bed. They would look for apartments later, for now, they needed to rest for work the next day. The morning would be here before they knew it. 

******

The following morning found the two sisters sitting at the table eating breakfast. Neither one brought up the subject, but Serah could tell that Fang was on her sister’s mind. The whole incident was just too creepy for the younger sister. 

“I’ll talk to the benefits department and see what’s available for housing near the hospital. If that option isn’t available, we can look for a place tonight after work. I’ll call mom and dad’s realtor friend and give them a heads up about renting the house out.”

“Claire, do you think it would be easier to just sell the place?”

“No, I want to keep it in case one of us decides to live here permanently. You never know you might get married and have kids someday and now there’s a house available to raise your kids in.”

“No sense in making a hasty decision, I guess,” Serah added.

“Claire, would you like me to check what hospital they sent Fang too?”

Claire looked down at her food.

“I’m that transparent?”

Serah stood up and squeezed her older sister’s shoulder.

“No, you’re just that caring.”

The commute into work was thankfully uneventful. After yesterday, the women were perfectly content without having to experience more car wrecks anytime soon. And Claire wouldn’t have to wait long to discover just where the medics had flown Fang. The young resident had barely left the locker room when she’d been called over by the Chief of Surgery.

“Yes, sir?”

“Ms. Farron, when are you going to call me by my name? This isn’t the military you know.”

“I know sir, it’s just that my father…”

“I’ll stop you there, I’m very aware of how your father raised you two girls and how you two have behaved most of your lives. And because of that knowledge, I figured you’d want to know that your patient is here in the hospital.”

“Sir?”

The Chief of Surgery, one Dr. Alexander Hess, a good sized man with hair, the faded color of tarnished copper and sharp hazel eyes. He loved to tease his residents and interns, his way of helping them to maintain a sense of humor in an otherwise grim profession.

“You did a good job yesterday Farron you saved that women’s life with your quick thinking and from what I’ve heard the superhuman act of strength. How are you feeling this morning?”

Claire’s brain seemed to short circuit for a moment and she could see the amusement in her Dr. Hess as she processed everything.

“Fang, she’s here?”

It was the surgeon's turn to look confused.

“You know her Farron?”

“No sir, Fang is on the cover of a running magazine I was reading yesterday. It just so happens to be a strange coincidence.”

“Strange? Perhaps, coincidence, however, I’m not a true believer in such things. Anyway, this Fang is a lucky lady. And in light of this new information, you didn’t answer my question, how are you?”

“I’m okay sir, surprisingly so, I’m okay.”

“Good to hear.”

“Do you know how’s she’s doing?”

“She had emergency surgery of course for your typical spleen and kidney damage that occurs in these types of incidents, a collapsed lung that developed on the way to the hospital. Currently, she’s in a medically induced coma for now. We’re monitoring her vitals and watching the cranial swelling. As soon as she’s able we’ll operate on those mangled legs of hers, deal with the broken ribs and the damage to her spinal cord.”

“I knew she would be in bad shape, I just wasn’t sure to what degree,” Claire replied softly.

“She’s alive, Fang is a fighter. The anesthesiologist had a hell of a time keeping her under once she was breathing on her own. We were afraid we were going to have to restrain her and operate while she was awake. Thank god that didn’t happen.”

“She has anesthesia awareness or higher resistance to the anesthesia.”

“It seems that way. She startled the anesthesiologist when she opened her eyes and looked right at him. I haven’t seen a look like that on his face in ages. Luckily she’s been kept sedated and will stay that way until the cranial swelling goes down. It will help her body to heal itself more quickly.”

Dr. Hess studied Claire for a moment.

“That brings me to another subject, Ms. Farron. You’re working the floor with the patients at this stage of your residency, I think it will be a huge help for this woman if you’re involved with her care. Are you up to it?”

“Yes, sir.”

It was a great relief to Claire, now she could check in on the woman and it wouldn’t be so awkward. It was part of her job after all, but she had a sneaky suspicion that Dr. Hess had not only suggested this for Fang, but for herself. It had been years since the accident, but maybe there was something more psychological to this than the head of surgery was saying directly. Whatever the reason, she would accept it either way.

“Good, here you go!”

Dr. Hess handed Claire a stack of charts for her morning duties:

“Get to it, Farron!”

Claire left the room, checking the charts as she scanned for the priorities of the morning first. Of course, it was Fang who was at the top of the list and she made a quick exit toward the elevators and ICU. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire sees Fang for the first time since the accident and the brunette is not in her room alone. Who is this person, and what relationship do they have to the comatose woman? Serah and Claire make a big decision, what will this choice bring about in their lives?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is more detail in this chapter about Fang's condition. She's got a long road ahead of her physically and mentally as she mends and gets to know Claire. As stated before, this will not be a pleasant trip for either of them, so hang on to your seats as we move forward!

The ICU could seem rather creepy if you’d never been in one. The mood was often somber and deathly quiet save for the noises of family, the nurses and the machines in the room. It could leave a horrifying picture in a young child's mind to either be a patient or coming to see one. It wasn’t like the nursing staff, or hospital was purposely trying to scare people, it had nothing to do with them. The ICU was just not an area where you usually heard loud joyous noises or carrying on. This was a unit that held your critical care patients, and sometimes those patients did not survive whatever trauma had placed them there, to begin with.

ICU wasn’t Claire’s favorite place, she’d spent time there a few years ago herself. Despite the atmosphere, she would be the first one to tell you that the nurses and doctors at the hospital were some of the best, and their level of care was second to none. It was good to know that Fang was a fighter, with the healthcare she’d be receiving, the marathon runner would have the optimal chance of recovery. 

Claire was looking through Dr. Hess’s notes when the elevator chimed for her floor. The young resident passed the ICU waiting room and passed through the glass doors into the ICU. The sounds of monitors beeping and quiet discussions were the immediate noises that struck her.

“Good morning, Claire.”

“Good morning, Rachel.”

“I see you had an eventful trip home yesterday?”

“Word travels fast.”

Rachel scoffed.

“Claire, you know better than most, it’s like a soap opera in here at times. That is about the only accurate description that these television shows portray of hospitals.”

“I see Dr. Hess didn’t waste any time sending you out the door with an arm full of patients to attend too.”

Claire finally laughed and gave Rachel a smile.

“Don’t you just envy me? I’ll trade you for a day?”

“Oh, please! Are you kidding me? I’ve done my grunt work missy, it’s all you now.”

It was a childish response, but Claire stuck her tongue out at Rachel as she headed toward Fang’s room.

“Claire, Dr. Michaels is in there with a family member.”

That stopped the young resident from knocking on the door. Dr. Michaels was the head of neurology. It was likely she was speaking about Fang’s head injuries to her family. But if Claire was perfectly honest with herself, she was very curious as to whom this family member was. The marathon runner never talked about her personal life, so the intrigue and mystery hung like an enticing aroma. 

The young resident passed the time with the ICU Nurse on duty while waiting for Dr. Michaels to finish. It wasn’t long before the door to Fang’s room opened up and the bubbly neurosurgeon stepped out of the room. Claire really liked her, she was an amazing surgeon, she was intelligent and had the most wonderful bedside manner. For someone that at times had the tough job of delivering bad news, she was one of the most positive people Claire knew. 

“Good morning Claire, Rachel.”

“Good morning, Dr. Michaels,” the two women said in unison.

“Headed in to see Fang, Claire?”

“Yes, Dr. Hess gave me a brief rundown on her condition, but he didn’t go too in-depth with her prognosis.”

Dr. Michaels was always eager to teach, it didn’t matter if you were one of her residents or not. It wasn’t long before Claire found herself looking at monitored readings of Fang’s brain waves and full knowledge of what trauma the marathon runner’s brain had sustained. Just listening to the list of issues was enough to make the young resident inwardly cringe. 

Fang had suffered the obvious, that typically happened with a car accident. The brunette had a depressed skull fracture from her head hitting the inside of the doorpost and a DAI. The DAI, or diffuse axonal injury, was the more serious concern, as it had caused swelling to the woman’s brain. Currently, she was under a medically induced coma to allow her body to contend with natural healing.

Claire did not need to see Fang to know that they had shaved a portion of the brunette’s long locks and drilled a small hole in her skull, in order to deal with the intracranial pressure. From Dr. Michael's description, they had placed an intraventricular catheter through her brain into the lateral ventricle where there was cerebrospinal fluid. 

“She hit her head a lot harder than I had realized,” Claire replied. 

“You could not have known Claire, you responded to an accident and your immediate intervention helped to save the woman’s life. According to the police report, the airbag had deployed but it had ruptured. We could discuss all day how the young woman could have been spared had the airbag not ruptured, but we’ll leave that to others to discuss. My immediate concerns are the swelling to the brain and any additional bleeding.”

“Thank you, Dr. Michaels,” Claire replied.

“Anytime, Claire.”

As Dr. Michaels bid them all good morning and went about her own duties for the day, Claire turned toward Fang’s room. The curiosity of the brunette’s visitor had long faded into the background of the reality of the marathon runner's condition. The intern hesitated a moment before entering the room. 

“Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay,” Jesse replied.

“I’m Dr. Claire Farron. I work with Dr. Hess.”

“Yes, the orthopedic surgeon?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Claire replied.

“Is there something else wrong?”

“No, I’m just here to check on Fang. I will be overseeing her getting too and from surgery and any appointments she’ll be needing in the near future.”

Claire’s focus remained on Fang’s visitor. She’d seen enough trauma cases in the last few years and gone through her own experience to know that the woman was a hot mess and that her recovery would depend solely upon how her body responded to injury. 

“I’m sorry, where are my manners. I’m Jesse, Fang’s fiance.”

Claire shook the offered hand.

“I’m sorry we’re all meeting under such circumstances,” Claire replied.

Claire paused for a moment. She recognized Jesse’s face.

“Jesse Mathews? You’re part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors top 6 star finishers.” 

“You must be a fellow runner, no one just knows that.”

“Sprinter, former sprinter. I just happened to pick up a few magazines over the years to know your name, and Fang’s.”

“You said Farron right, as in Lightning Farron? You’re that sprinter?”

Claire blushed, it had been a long time since she’d actually had someone that knew her as Lightning.

“Yes, but that was several years ago.”

The irony of Claire standing in the room with Fang hung in the air in a most uncomfortable way.

“I’m sorry about the accident, you had a promising career ahead of you,” Jesse remarked.

“It’s okay, things turned out for the better.”

“Well, if you’re as dedicated now as you were then, Fang is in excellent care. I appreciate you stopping by, I need to leave for a while. Please, if anything changes with Fang, call me. My number is up on her board.”

Claire took the offered hand again and shook it. Fang had a fiance, maybe she’ll have better luck than she had so long ago. She didn’t know Jesse outside of what she’d read, he seemed like a nice man.

“Take care, Mr. Matthews, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Please, call me Jesse.”

As soon as Fang’s fiance left the room, Claire’s attention went to the comatose patient. The brunette did indeed look like a mess. Her face was swollen, the deep cut that had been along her hairline was black and blue, her hair was shaved around the wound and back to where the catheter protruded from her skull. 

Claire was certain that Fang would have several staples along with stitches to the cut along her skull. It had gone down to the bone when she recalled yesterday’s accident. Not to mention as she flipped through Fang’s chart to read the various other issues with broken bones, spinal and internal injuries brought a feeling of dread over the whole room. The marathon runner would not be running any races for a long time, if at all. And if she made it through this entire mess, there would be a long recovery with physical therapy.

Claire placed the chart down and walked over to the head of the bed. Yes, she worked in a hospital, but the sounds of the machine’s running that were currently hooked up to the unconscious brunette gave her a feeling of deja vu. Fang looked more like a science project gone wrong with all the machines, tubing, wires and saline drip attached to her battered person. Claire ran a gentle hand along the side of Fang’s face that wasn’t a mess, before reaching down to touch her hand.

“You’re in good hands, Fang, just rest and let your body heal.”

“I can never decide which is worse, the day of or the day after an accident,” Serah replied from behind.

“You’re working ICU today?”

“For a while, Jasmine’s out on maternity leave starting today.”

Claire unconsciously squeezed Fang’s hand.

“Now I know for a fact you’re in capable hands, Fang.”

“Do you think she can hear you?”

“I don’t know, everyone experiences something different. I could hear you when you were talking to me,” Claire answered.

“Meet you in the cafeteria for lunch, Claire. Don’t forget, we need to go over options for a move.”

“I’ll see you then, Serah.”

Claire took a moment to look at the sleeping marathon runner for a few more minutes before heading off to take care of her other charges. By the time lunch rolled around, she had been hip-deep in patients, from speaking to family members, going over instructions for recovery, care, and future appointments, to patients finally being discharged from the hospital. 

She was on her way to the cafeteria when she remembered she needed to check in on housing. When she finally entered the lunchroom, Serah was sitting at their usual spot with two trays. Claire tried to hide the smirk as she walked over to the table.

“Sit down, and quit looking at me like that. You never eat anything different and you’re almost always late, I’m just saving us time.”

“Here.” 

The older sister tossed her younger sibling a notepad. Serah caught it mid-air and pulled it in for a closer look. Claire could already see the excitement in her sister’s face as she read through the information.

“We can take one of the available houses near the hospital and practically walk to work every day, or we can look at the options through an apartment or housing complex partnered with the hospital and drive or take the Metro Rail.”

Serah took a bite of her baby carrot and looked at the choices that her older sister had offered. She knew which choice she would make, and she was willing to bet an entire paycheck she knew her sister’s answer as well. 

“My vote’s for this one here, near the hospital. It’s still far enough outside of LA that we won’t get caught in the majority of the traffic and close enough to spend a night on the town if we want.”

Claire cracked a smile.

“Good, because I already told payroll that we’d take that house, and set it up for rent to be deducted from our checks.”

Serah practically lept from her spot at the table and hugged her sister’s neck. 

“How soon can we move?”

“I’ve already got a call into mom and dad’s realtor about the house and as far as moving into this one, it will be about a month. Do you think you can last that long?”

Serah rolled her eyes.

“Yes, of course. Around here, a month goes by in a blink of an eye. Besides, there’s a lot to do at our house, to get it ready for someone to rent it out.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want, Claire?” Serah added.

“Yes, I’m positive.”

The rest of the lunch the two sisters talked about their day and the pending move. The hospital had gone to a lot of trouble and expense to buy up the houses around the area and change it into a place for staff to live. It may seem like a hassle to live so close to work, but the benefits all but outweighed the risks. And then when you thought of the lack of a commute into work, it was a signed deal, especially for Serah.

Work kept Claire’s mind occupied, she couldn’t very well spend an entire day obsessing over one patient or the next. Finishing up a little early, she made her way to the ICU unit to collect Serah and head home. It just so happened that her sister was finishing up in Fang’s room when she arrived on the floor.

“How is she?”

“Stable, I’ve never seen so much brain activity. When you’re under like that, you’re out for the count, but Fang seems like she’s trying to break through and wake up. It’s a constant with her, so it’s a good thing that the cranial pressure seems to be going down.”

Claire hummed, as she noticed the empty room.

“Her fiance hasn’t been back?”

“No, just the name and number on the board.”

The resident gave it no further thought as she turned to see if Serah was ready to leave. The desire to get home without another repeat of yesterday was fresh on their minds as they climbed into the car. There was a lot to do at home and Serah was correct, that month would fly by before they knew it and Claire did not want to be caught behind in transitioning from their parent’s home to their new one by the hospital. 

For the next three days, the two sisters were busy with work and setting plans into motion for the move. There wasn’t a day that went by that Claire or Serah wasn’t in Fang’s room, but there had been a noticeable absence of Jesse. It was bothersome for Claire, as Fang’s current danger was easing and it wouldn’t be long before the young woman was conscious. 

It poked at an old wound, one that Claire would never wish on anyone. And as the days ticked by with no Jesse, it reminded the young resident of her former girlfriend. Needless to say, there were some sore spots over that issue, but she couldn’t allow herself to judge the man. She really didn’t know him at all, or Fang for that matter. It was none of her business what kind of relationship they had, even when you would think that there must be something there if they’re engaged.

“Claire, can you help me real quick. I need to change out Fang’s bedding. It will go quicker if you help me.”

“Sure.” 

The two sisters quickly changed out the sheets without moving a hair on Fang’s head, let alone moving or jostling her still form. Serah had excused herself from the room, while she spoke to the nurses coming on duty for the night. It was in that quiet moment in the room, that the resident found herself really studying the sleeping form of the brunette.

“Oh, hey, I’m glad you’re here,” Jesse’s replied, interrupting Claire’s thoughts.

“Hi, Jesse. It’s good to see you. Did you need something?”

“Yes, can you give this to Fang, when she wakes up?”

“Sure, but wouldn’t you like to do it yourself? Dr. Michaels is lifting the medication on Fang, she’ll be waking up in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

“No, it’s best if I’m not here.”

Without another word, Jesse handed Claire a teddy bear and envelope and walked out of the room. Why did the resident suddenly have a feeling that Fang’s fiance had just walked out on her? For the brunette’s sake, Claire hoped that her gut was dead wrong. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serah gets a glimpse of Fang's fiance that spurs a discussion with her sister about his visit. A life begins to move forward for the Farron sisters, as they begin packing and making arrangements for the big move to the city. Claire surprises herself when Fang finally wakes up.

Serah walked into the room, her head watching the handsome man that just left the room. But when she turned back to Fang’s room and saw the look on her sister’s face, she did a double take of the man leaving. He wasn’t a doctor or resident that the young nurse knew, so logic dictated that it must be a visitor for the brunette.

“Who was that?” serah asked.

Claire looked at the battered runner unconscious on the bed before she spoke. 

“ _ That _ , was Fang’s fiance.”

She set the bear and card down on the nightstand next to Fang’s bed. A worried look that only Claire would recognize began to settle into Serah’s eyes.

“Okay, you don’t need to tell me that this wasn’t a positive visit, I can see it in your face. Is Fang getting worse?” The confused younger Farron asked.

Claire finally sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“I think he just left Fang a dear Jane letter.”

Serah’s head snapped to the exit of the ICU before settling on Fang.

“Are you kidding me?!”

“I wish I were, Serah.”

Sitting in the chair next to the bed, Claire felt a sudden exhaustion.

“He just showed up, handed me that bear and a card and asked me to give it to her. I told him she’d be conscious in the next 24 to 48 hours and he said it would be better that he wasn’t here. If that isn’t a man walking out on his fiance, I don’t know what is.”

“What an asshole!” Serah exclaimed.

“I can’t argue with that Serah, but maybe he’s just a coward that can’t handle seeing Fang this way.”

“Still, don’t you think he’d at least have the nerve to tell her himself?!”

“Which is less painful Serah? Should he tell her right when she wakes up, string her along and then break the news to her? I honestly don’t know that answer. Maybe Fang is a person who would rather he just not be here when she wakes, if that’s how he feels.” Lightning answered.

Serah sat beside her sister, taking her hand.

“It’s still a crappy thing to do, Claire.”

“I know, but we don’t know what kind of people they are, or how they’d even view this. Maybe it isn’t something that would bother Fang. Just because we don’t like it, doesn’t mean that someone else would see it better ending now than later.”

Serah squeezed her sister’s hand as she looked at the unconscious brunette, before pulling Claire to her feet.

“Well, for Fang’s sake, I hope she is.”

“Me too, Serah, me too.” 

The two sisters left the ICU, staying long enough to inform Dr. Hess and Dr. Michaels of the situation and leaving it up to the senior staff on how this situation should be handled. Climbing into the car and headed home was mercifully uneventful. Despite the possible drama, Claire and Serah had a lot of work to do at home to prepare to move into town. With so much work needing to be done, it was easy to let the incident go to the back of their minds as they organized their parent’s house and their old rooms. 

By the time the two girls had settled down to eat dinner, they talked about the up and coming move to town. Serah was still very excited, and if she wasn’t deceiving herself, she could see some excitement in Claire as well.

“This weekend, I’ll rent a truck and we can move anything we aren’t taking with us and put it in storage. Rental rates out here are cheaper than in the city, so make sure you know exactly what you’re taking.”

“Are we storing mom and dad’s belongings?” Serah asked.

“There was an option to rent the house furnished, but I don’t want to take a chance that something could be broken.”

Serah chewed on her salad as she listened to Claire. Their parents may have been wealthy, but outside the fact her mom liked to decorate the house, they were minimalists. Their father was practical, never seeing a reason to spend more than you needed or to have more than necessary. The youngest figured it was because their dad came from a poor family and their mom was from a lower middle class working family. 

Either way, both girls had been raised that money was not important outside of what you needed to live and what you could do for others when you had abundance. Little unknown fact that only the Farron’s daughters knew about, was the many organizations that they donated too. The Farron’s were huge philanthropists, seeking to help as much as they could for the sake of their fellow man. 

“I have a list ready to go. I worked on it during my break today.”

“Claire, how about we just donate the furniture? I mean, it's not like we need it and mom and dad left the house and all their belongings to us.”

Claire smiled at her sister.

“I was hoping you’d say that. Dr. Reynold’s from the free clinic left a message about a family that came in today. They lost everything in a house fire.”

“Then it’s settled,” Serah said.

“You can tell Dr. Reynolds in the morning that we have furniture for this family.”

“Did you give him our available times for the clinic this summer?”

“It’s all taken care of Serah. Oh, that reminds me, Dr. Reynolds has a new recruit for the clinic. He said that dad had been talking to him about adding a psychologist to the team. He’s weeded through applications and found a young woman he’s going to bring onto the staff, but he wants us to meet her.”

“Sure, but why does he need us to meet her?” Serah asked.

“He said with dad gone, he wants us to be more involved with the day to day decisions. He wants us to take on mom and dad’s position on the board.”

Claire studied Serah’s face as she cut into a piece of her chicken. They had talked about it briefly after their parents had died, but the two sisters hadn’t revisited the conversation until now.

“So, what do you think?”

“I love working at the clinic, I can’t see any other way to honor mom and dad than by stepping up and taking their spots. I mean, we worked at the clinic even before any of us went to school.”

“Good. We can set up regular schedules for the free clinic when Dr. Reynolds is ready for us and coordinated with the hospital. I’ll ask when I call to find out when he wants us to meet this new psychologist.”

Claire and Serah finished their dinner and eventually retired to their rooms for bed. Despite the long day, the elder Farron spent a little longer awake working on details for packing the house and the belongings they needed to move. It was shortly after ten when the eldest Farron daughter fell asleep with the light on the nightstand still on and the pad of paper with her list on her lap. 

Serah had padded into the kitchen for a drink, when she’d happened by Claire’s old room. It was difficult not to want to chuckle, her older sister often was found like this during her school years. Quietly, she tipped toed into the room, and shut the light off and moved the list to the nightstand before returning to bed.

At midnight, Serah was startled awake by her sister’s cry. Running out of her room, she found Claire thrashing in her bed, a nightmare, one Serah was sure was brought on by the recent patient, Fang. There were a lot of similarities to their situation, and the youngest was wondering just how profound an effect it would have on her sister. Now, she knew.

“Claire.”

It was almost instantaneous, the response, her older sister quieted, but she did not wake. It was an old routine, from years before when they had gone through this together.

“Move over.”

With a deep relaxing breath, Claire did as she was instructed, while Serah slipped into bed. Wrapping her arms around her sister’s waist, she snuggled in tight before falling back to sleep. In the morning, when they both awoke to the alarm for work, not a word was spoken. There never needed to be, they had been through this before and all that could be spoken had been, now it was exchanged through their actions. 

It wasn’t the first car accident, or patient that Claire had dealt with since her own experience. But she could honestly say, it was the first that she felt suddenly connected too. Was it because Dr. Hess had mentioned that maybe she could help the marathon runner? Of course he hadn’t asked her to get personal with Fang, just that the accident and the possible loss of doing something you loved, they had in common.

You’re required to take psychology when you enter the medical field, although she was no expert, she could see the doctor’s wisdom. She and Fang would have some common ground, something that could possibly be a source of encouragement, or strength for the marathon runner. Maybe it would help the distance runner get her mind off of the long road of recovery by having someone that was caring for her health have that understanding of what she was going through. And Claire, she understood, and looking back, it would have been nice to have had someone there when she went through the accident. If it hadn’t been for Serah and the medical staff that knew her and her parents, it would have been a very difficult time indeed.

Ultimately, this thinking of being there for others was what spurred the young woman to follow in her parents footsteps. In that moment of her deepest suffering and pain, she had been surrounded by not only love from her sister, but love from strangers and people who knew her through her mom and dad. This was what caring for someone was supposed to be like, wasn’t it? It was why her parents were partners in a free clinic, donated so much of their free time for others and worked diligently with each patient that they had.

So, should it have been a surprise to her, with that in mind that she would be the one that was in the room when Fang opened her eyes? Doped up on pain meds, with no knowledge of who this was you were seeing and where you are?

“J..Jesse.” Fang’s voice spoke barely audible.

It was still enough to startle Claire, who had been consumed with overlooking the brunette’s chart. When the young resident’s eyes locked onto one of her charges, they were green eyes filled with the haze of pain and confusion.

“Hi. Fang. I’m Dr. Farron. Do you know where you are and how you got here?”

Green eyes tried to focus on the blue eyes before her, but Fang felt as if she was swimming physically and mentally in quick drying cement and it was a struggle just trying to keep her eyes open. The brunette looked around for Jesse, someone or something familiar but everything looked alien to her. And although she couldn’t put her mind to what was going on, she was aware enough to recognize Claire’s words and the sight of things she recognized from the world around.

“C..ca..can’t mmm..move.”

“Try and relax, Fang.”

That was about as far as Claire got when Dr. Michaels entered and the young resident was extremely thankful. The first words out of Fang’s mouth had been her fiance’s, but why wouldn’t it be. Claire’s had been Andrea’s, even though they had not been together in almost a week. A week fresh out of a relationship and then she was in a car accident with her parents, who had not survived. 

“Hello Fang, I’m Dr. Michaels.”

After a quick conversation with Claire, the seasoned doctor took right over. The woman was a marvel to watch, and she had the most wonderful way with her patients. The neurosurgeon had a god given talent that she used to its fullest, her patients always her priority when she was at work and even when she wasn’t. Claire had never known a doctor since her parents that had been so dedicated that she would drop whatever she was doing to be there for them. 

“Fang, try and relax, I know this is confusing and frustrating for you. You were in a car accident, and you’re in the hospital.”

As Dr. Michaels gently spoke to Fang, trying to calm and reassure her, Claire saw the underlying fire light the drug hazed induced look in the brunette’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what prompted her to act, perhaps her own experience, but she reached up and touched Fang’s face, drawing her eyes back.

“Fang, I’ve been in a car accident before. I understand what you’re going through, the confusion, the pain, the uncertainty...the fear.”

The seasoned doctor smiled inwardly, letting the young resident draw the patients attention. This was why the good Dr. Hess had assigned Claire in the orthopedic care of the young woman laying in the bed before them. Sometimes, in situations like this, it took someone who understood where the patient was and could meet them on common ground.

“Trust me, trust Dr. Michaels, we’re here for you and right now your health and recovery is our main concern.”

Fang was having a difficult time staying focused, she felt the burning need to talk, to ask questions. But the brunette couldn’t string the words together, her thoughts were scattered and fleeting one bleeding into the other. 

“A..al..alright.” She finally answered. 

“Good. Try and relax now. Dr. Michaels has some questions she needs you to answer. When things settle down and you feel up to it, we can talk if you like.”

Fang didn’t answer, but she did take a moment to stare at the young doctor with a determined look, trying to get her brain functioning with some type of cohesion before looking back at Dr. Michaels. 

Her mind strayed, trying to grasp the memory of this so called car accident that put her here. All the while, she was also trying to concentrate on answering questions to the best of her ability and comprehend all the information coming at her. Her head hurt, it was too much to try and do, so she tried to just listen to the doctor instead. Occasionally, her eyes would drift over to the younger woman. 

The young doctor said she’d been through this, she knows, she understands, and Fang held onto that in her mind. But there was one burning question that led to others that held the marathon runner captive. Where was Jesse, did he know about the accident, why wasn’t he here, he wasn’t with her was he?

“How long?” Fang managed.

“How long have you been here?” Dr. Michaels clarified.

Fang nodded slowly, swallowing past the accumulation of emotional and physical obstructions in her throat.

“Yeah.”

“6 days.”

Six days of her life gone, no memory, nothing. Clinging to anything that felt like a life preserver, Fang’s gaze wandered back over to Dr. Farron. The look she was receiving was one of sympathy, but also one of understanding. The brunette’s attention returned to Dr. Michaels as the woman explained what had been going on for the last six days of her unconscious life. The woman was rather thorough and explained things in terms that she could understand, leaving room for Fang to ask questions. 

The reason for the foggy head, the dull pain the numbness all started to make sense. When Fang began to squint, Dr. Michaels suggested she try and get some rest and so as not to exacerbate her head injuries. As Dr. Michaels went to leave the room, Fang managed to catch Claire’s gaze.

“I'll be around the hospital until this evening, around five. If you need anything, just use your call button. My sister, Serah, is a nurse here in ICU. She can get ahold of me if you need anything.”

Fang gave a weak nod of understanding, as she began to feel the edges of unconsciousness reach for her. She would sleep most of the morning, waking briefly when Serah entered her room to check on her. From her brief encounter, the younger sister seemed just as pleasant as her older sister. If this was the kind of care she would be receiving, it helped to relax her even more as she drifted off to sleep. 

There were no dreams from this kind of sleep, she had been out for the count and even though her body was awake, it wasn’t even close to being fully functional. Dr. Farron, or Claire as she had been told to call her, had returned around lunch time. And Fang was quickly beginning to realize that sleep was much more preferable to being conscious. She’d even said as much, earning a laugh of understanding from the kind doctor. 

From all that she’s gleaned from the doctors and nurses in and out of her room that day, she was in for a long recovery. There were still things that had to be regulated, managed and treated from her list of injuries. Some of them had only briefly touched the surface, explaining that when she was a little more coherent, they would discuss details. 

For all of the small amount of time she was awake, Fang was finding it easier to just rest. Her mind and body were still in no state to deal with the totality of her condition and thankfully, she’d not mentioned Jesse at all for the rest of the day. Thankfully, her body had given her other concerns to deal with, than what had been initially on her mind.

In fact, someone else had replaced her fiance when she drifted to sleep several times that day. A certain little bubbly redhead from her days in the orphanage so very long ago. She had had a sister too, once for a wonderfully short period of time. The Farron sisters had dredged up an old memory of that someone she had loved so very dear, and was perhaps the only one on the planet that really knew her at all. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang finally starts to experience some conscious moments after the accident, but as she will discover, it will be an uphill battle. Recovery will take some time, but will the marathon runner have the endurance to last? Stuck in a bed, no fiance coming to visit her and the looming "gift," that sits near her bed, will she finally come to terms with the truth of her situation?

Have you ever been forced awake when you were in the middle of a dream, maybe your alarm went off or someone woke you up? It’s like the rest of your day is foggy, you feel disjointed and not completely there. That’s how Fang felt when she woke up to the relative darkness of her room to the sounds of the machines running somewhere behind her. Her mind was foggy, like it was half functioning. Part of the brunette’s brain felt sluggish, while the waking part of her felt like it was going a mile a minute.

It must be night, at least from the lack of light in her room and what she could see outside her glass door. There was a nurse sitting at the ICU station, a lamp shedding light on whatever it was she was doing. Brief thoughts of conversation from the last few hours drifted into her mind in fragments, pieces of information and flashes of faces. As the slower part of her mind began it’s sluggish attempt to connect with the rest of the brain, Fang tried to focus on one thing at a time.

She was in a hospital, that fact was obvious by the current state of her dress and condition, as well as the other tell tale signs around her. It was a place she hadn’t been in since childhood and it wasn’t a place she had planned to visit anytime soon. The only time she’d been in a hospital had been as a young girl and Fang refused to revisit the past. So, the brunette concentrated on her current situation, slowly moving her eyes over what she could see, which wasn’t much. 

Fang ignored that nagging feeling that she actually felt like crap, it was to be expected, she had been in a vehicle accident. But it was mind over body, if she could just get her mind and spirit realigned, the two could work double time on the body. She was Native American after all, and there was a lot to be said about the holistic and spiritual healing. But the brunette’s mind was divided and pieces of it pulled her in several directions which was proving to be a challenge. 

There was a large part of her that told her to close her eyes and rest, she was too injured to be worrying about stupid stuff. Then there was the part that said, “ _ What the fuck _ !” and that part of her brain was just as large as the “let it go” part. And then she had those nagging little pieces of her brain that wanted to examine what the doctors had said, and then another piece that wanted to get the hell out of here. Those parts of her brain were followed by doubt, nagging questions and a pinprick of fear she tried to deny.

“Okay, come on Fang, get it together.” She tried to encourage herself.

The runner made herself gaze at the parts of her body she could see. The doctors still had her in a C-Collar and, damn it all! They had her in restraints! Fang wasn’t one for profanity, but in the last few hours of being in and out of consciousness, she’d discovered a reserve full of them. Frustration and that pinprick of fear raced through her heart and the monitors suddenly jumped, sending loud alarms from the machines behind her. The sudden jump in activity brought the nurses head up and toward her room. The woman was there in an instant and the brunette didn’t know whether to be relieved or irritated more.

“Hello Fang, I’m Amanda, I’m your ICU nurse for the night shift. How are you feeling?”

Where the surly attitude had come from was Fang’s guess, but she fought the rude comment that was on her tongue. “How the fuck did she think she was?” Instead, the brunette took a deep breath, feeling the air from her nasal cannula send some of that sweet oxygen to her lungs. 

“Like my brain’s in too many different places at once.”

Her voice still sounded like a croaking frog and she tried to clear her throat. The action brought on some coughing, made her head feel like it would explode. Amanda quickly responded, and before long Fang had settled back down, but not before feeling like someone was peeling her skull apart from the corner of her head. After a brief exchange, the brunette realized it was from the stitches and staples to her scalp. Apparently, it had taken 40 staples and another 40 stitches to button up her head. That brief conversation alone had left her feeling exhausted and wanting to be anywhere but lying in a hospital bed.

As far as the restraints, it had been to keep her from pulling out the tube currently stuck in her head to monitor the pressure in her skull. Fang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, because her head hurt and it was hard to concentrate, but she was fixated on how much of her hair they’d shaved off for all this. The irony of literally being scalped had really fought for her to laugh more than to cry, but the pain was just more than she wanted to deal with right now. 

But Fang just couldn’t rest until she pressed on, and since the ICU nurse was in her room, she would take advantage of it. She had questions, and Amanda answered them to the best of her ability, often suggesting to her to save those concerns for when the doctors were in during the morning visit. After noticing that both her legs were wrapped, she had to know just how bad they were. Was she even going to be able to compete, to walk, and that tiny bit of fear flared, causing the monitors to go off again. 

Amanda did her best to reassure her that the doctors would answer all of her concerns in the morning and that rest was what was best right now. As much as Fang wanted to explore her legs further, the ICU nurse upped her pain dosage and the brunette felt herself slipping back into oblivion. Damn it! And that was the last thought that crossed the runner’s mind before succumbing to a state of unconsciousness. 

The sound of soft voices roused Fang from her induced sleep and as her eyes began the painful process of opening, her view was filled with rose colored hair and blue eyes. The doctor, the one that told her she’d been in an accident too, Dr. Farron, she was in the room speaking to another young woman. They looked alike, didn’t Dr. Farron say she had a sister too? The two seemed to be having a deep discussion and it took some effort to want to speak.

“I...I have some questions,” Fang replied.

Two heads turned to look right at her, in any other circumstances, the brunette would have felt out of place. She had to know though, she had to know if she’d ever be able to walk again, let alone run. 

“Good Morning, Fang,” the two sisters said in unison.

“Is that all anyone says around here,” the brunette asked.

Serah laughed and Claire gave her a smile before the two sisters parted ways and Claire came over to the bed. Fang had never seen such studious blue eyes before and she found it rather odd to be captivated by the look. 

“What questions do you have, Fang?”

Those damn eyes said she already had an idea, was it because she’d shared a similar situation or because the nurse told her? Her brain said both, but the concussion made her guess the logically answers.

“Will I be able to run again?”

The look in Claire’s eyes changed and Fang found herself hanging on every look coming from the woman. Dr. Farron’s answer would change the brunette’s life, or at least a huge part of it. The brunette tried to stamp down the fear that spiked through her, that was an emotion she would not tolerate within herself. 

“Are you asking for just my professional opinion?”

Fang thought about the woman’s words the night before but a personal opinion would mean as much as her professional.

“As a doctor,” the brunette replied.

“I know it’s not what you want to hear, but medicine can be tricky. A lot depends on the types of injuries a person sustains and the person themselves. From the information we have so far, you will recover from the accident, but running won’t be anything you’ll be doing in the near future. The biggest obstacle is the damage you sustained to your nerves and spine.”

It wasn’t what Fang wanted to hear, but it wasn’t a sure death sentence either. To the brunette’s surprise, Dr. Farron took some papers from an envelope and showed them to her. It was what Fang would refer to as the “ _Understanding Your Injuries: For Dummies_ ,” packet of information. And the runner was impressed, all the information was presented in a manner that laid out Fang’s injuries, what she could expect and pictures to go with it. 

“You did all this?” Fang asked.

“It was a joint effort with Dr. Michaels, Dr. Hess and myself.”

“So, in short, the information shows a positive outcome, with stipulations that it could change given other factors.”

“In a nutshell, yes,” Claire replied.

“I don’t suppose I can get these off?”

“Sure, they’re more a precaution to keep you from accidentally injuring yourself.”

As Dr. Farron unfastened her restraints, Fang found herself uncomfortable in the sudden silence. And that feeling was compounded, because she could never recall feeling uncomfortable in silence before. She watched as Claire gently removed the claps and watched how she lovingly seemed to massage the skin around the areas that had been bound. 

“Thank you, Dr. Nightingale.” 

“Excuse me?” Claire responded.

“Sorry, just, I don’t think I’ve ever met a doctor with quite the bedside manner,” Fang replied.

Claire smiled at her patient.

“Actually, if you’re going to bestow that title on anyone, it would be Dr. Michaels. She has a much better bedside manner, she’s quite the natural.”

It wasn’t as if Fang had lots of experience with doctors anyway, but it was something she obviously noted about the doctor with the rose colored hair. Choosing to take the more positive side of her recovery, the waiting would be the hardest part. More surgery and physical therapy were on the docket for activities she will have to endure in the near future. Despite the gung ho attitude to be positive, fear was slowly growing in her thoughts. 

“She does seem like a mother more than a doctor,” Fang replied.

“You mentioned that you were in a car accident too, can I ask about that, or were you just trying to be polite?” 

From the moment that Claire and Serah had arrived at work that morning, the young resident could not deny that Fang had been on her mind. Finding Serah in her bed meant that she’d had a nightmare, and one she was thankful she hadn’t remembered upon waking. The medically scientific part of her mind was curious as to how Fang would handle her situation, as opposed to how she had. But had she really been ready to talk about the accident as she had said? It was a topic that she and her sister had been discussing during the drive in. And having the brunette ask in such a blunt and non political way brought her to the light of the truth, could she and would she?

“Yes, you can ask and no, I wasn’t trying to just be polite.”

Claire looked at Fang and for the first time, she noticed the beautiful intense green eyes. She hadn’t noticed them before, most likely due to the drugs that they had given her a steady supply of. But in that moment, when the brunette had asked about her own experience, there was a subtle change in those green orbs, they had sharpened despite the narcotics in her system. Dr. Farron watched as Fang seemed to stumble over what to ask, it never occurred to her that the questions might become too personal. 

“So, what happened?”

“I took my eyes off the road, long enough to miss another vehicle running a red light.”

“You don’t strike me as someone that doesn’t pay attention to detail, Dr. Farron.”

“Even detailed oriented people can be distracted, Fang. I took my eyes off the road to address my father. It was just a few seconds, but that was enough time to miss the other driver.”

“You weren’t alone in the car,” Fang stated.

“No, I wasn’t, both my parents were with me.”

“I guess that I’d assumed differently from your statement of our accidents being similar, or maybe I just misunderstood.”

“No, I didn’t elaborate on the specifics, but in many ways the accidents are similar, perhaps more on a personal and experiential level than how they actually happened.”

Fang found herself suddenly feeling drowsy, wasn’t that something Dr. Michaels said she would experience having a concussion? She was pretty sure that the night nurse had told her she’d dozed over in the middle of talking to her a few times. If only she could skip all the hospital stuff and go straight to therapy.

“I’m so grateful…”

Claire watched as Fang’s eyes closed as she spoke. This wasn’t a concern, since Claire knew this could happen. 

“Fang?”

“Yeah,” The brunette slurred.

“Why don’t you get some rest, I’ll come see you later.”

There was no answer, but Dr. Farron didn’t expect there to be. Claire stood to leave the room, the sight of the bear and the card catching her attention. Fang hadn’t asked, she hadn’t said a word and the young doctor had to wonder if the brunette already knew. Had she dodged an uncomfortable moment for the marathon runner, or had the woman simply been okay with the letter? Claire put the whole thing out of her mind, there was no sense wondering about it or wasting more time on something that hadn’t happened yet, so the young woman went about her day.

By noon time, Claire was back at ICU to walk with her sister to the cafeteria. Fang had been dozing on and off the entire day and likely would for several more to come. By the time she picked up Serah, the brunette was fast asleep. It would be like this for the next week as Dr. Farron would be in to check on her, talk with her briefly and head out on other rounds. But try as she might, thoughts of her patient would creep in, especially the lack of emotional response. There had been nothing, no tears, no anger, nothing and she had relayed her fears to Dr. Hess.

By the end of the second week, Fang was showing remarked improvement in her cognitive response to her surroundings. Dr. Michaels had reported that Fang recalled everything up to the last second when the semi had hit her car. It was rather remarkable how quickly the brunette had pushed through her brain injury, but the body and mind were a marvel at the things it could be capable of. With the marathon runner’s consciousness returned to full function, minus some pain from the actual damage done, she was up and pushing for moving along with her orthopedic needs.

“Hey doc! Now that the tube is out of my head, give me your opinion. Does it look bad, the stitches and bruising?”

“Good morning Fang,” Claire replied as she entered the room.

“Personal opinion please,” the brunette added.

“Um, sure.”

Dr. Farron moved close to the bed to get a good look. She wasn’t sure exactly what Fang was looking for, but she’d answer the question according to what she thought. Out of reflex of her profession, Claire leaned in and took a close look as she lightly touched around the sutures in the runner’s head.

“Well, once the staples and sutures are out and your hair grows back around the healing scar, no one will never know it’s even there.”

“Really?”

Claire stepped back and looked the woman in the eye. 

“You sound disappointed.” Dr. Farron replied.

“Well, I figured for as long as I’m going to be in here, I need to have something to show for it.”

Despite herself, Claire laughed.

“Well, I usually only hear that from men, who are trying to show some sort of bravado.”

“I’d rather have the scar on my head, Dr. Nightingale, than on my legs.”

“I see. Is there something you want to talk about, Fang?” 

Claire watched Fang’s eyes wander over to the table where the bear and card lay, before promptly returning to her. That intensity was back and the young doctor swore she could see pain and anger brewing in those green eyes.

“Tomorrow maybe, but would you do me a favor and hand me that card over there please.”

The professional in Claire obliged, but the woman in her felt all kinds of warning bells go off. When Dr. Farron turned back from the table toward her patient, Fang was smiling, but there was no warmth or joy. It was the kind of smile that didn’t quite go past the eyes, one that was forced while trying to convince everyone else that it was anything but.

“Fang, please call me Claire.”

And before she could catch herself, she reached over and squeezed Fang’s hand before leaving the room. Fang never replied, but Claire wasn’t expecting her too. On her way out of ICU, she forewarned Serah before leaving for her other rounds. 

Fang waited for Dr. Farron to leave the room. She couldn’t say how grateful she was that the doctor seemed to know she wanted to be alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Claire, quite the contrary. Given different circumstances, she could see the two of them being friends, of course it was just a gut feeling and nothing more, but her gut was always right.

As soon as the door closed and Fang could see that she would have a moment of privacy, she opened the card. It wasn’t the card itself that she paid attention too, or even cared about at the moment, it was the letter inside. The runner knew Jesse, at least she thought she had and he wasn’t one that wrote on cards, but personalized one with a letter he always handwrote. All the injured spots on her seemed to throb that much harder as she opened up the message and at the sametime her heart paused. Why, she had no idea, she had a good idea what was inside already. How could she not, she hadn’t seen or heard from Jesse since the accident, that was usually a good sign that someone wasn’t going to be calling in person or by phone.

_ Fang, _

_ I have never been one to mince words, a quality that you share as well. So, it is in that spirit, that I hope you can understand what I am about to say. Ours wasn’t a love affair from the heart, and if yours has changed, there is nothing I can say, and I will not offer empty platitudes.  _

_ As such, I have chosen to end this now instead of dragging things out and possibly bringing more pain. I can not build a future based on uncertainties, another shared perspective. We came together because we had mutual interests in common, one of those being able to have a family. After the accident, I spoke to the doctor about our plans, and as I’m sure you’ve surmised, there were no guarantees that he could give me.  _

_ I am truly sorry, I would never have wished for such a tragic thing to befall you, Fang. I sincerely hope that you heal and are able to move onto bigger and better things in your life. It was never my intention to hurt you. I wish you well. _

_ Jesse _

Fang felt numb, there were no other words to describe it. She was empty inside, the brunette had nothing else to give. As she crumbled up the note, Fang was certain that there would never be anything else of hers that she would give away again. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuck with only her thoughts for company, Fang is slowly beginning to unravel. Claire offers some personal time to give Fang a chance to talk about the accident, while she and Serah make the move to the big city. Will the offer be accepted, and will it be enough to help Fang keep herself together? Life is changing for everyone, the question is, will it be for the better?

When Serah came in the following morning, she was aware that her sister had given Fang the card. The youngest Farron was not sure what she’d come into, but as she spoke to the outgoing shift, things had been relatively quiet. Perhaps her sister had been wrong about the note or had an unfounded concern about their brunette patient. Either way, the young nurse would watch for any changes in their patient's mood or behavior. 

By the time Serah had worked her way through the patients in the ICU, the brunette was up and looking rather irritable. It didn’t seem that it was the kind of mood that reflected a break-up, it was more frustration. Not wanting to pry, the young nurse was still going to ask. Her patient's mental health was just as important as the physical.

“Good morning, Fang. How are you feeling?”

The patient in question raised her eyes to the door of her room. Nurse Farron was always so joyful. It wasn’t the kind of joy that was obnoxious, it was calm and it gave off a sense of comfort. Serah was always quick with a smile and something positive to say, but Fang was thankful that it wasn’t in a pushy way. 

“Like I’ve been in a car accident.” The smart reply came back.

Serah shook her head.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yeah, you can get me out of this damn bed.”

That explained the irritability, at least on the surface. But Serah had dealt with this many times, and she had first-hand experience when dealing with her sister. Unfazed by Fang’s attitude, Serah continued.

“I would love more than anything for you not to be stuck in that bed. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do other than help you heal and maintain your pain levels, Fang.”

“How about you just break me out. I need to get out of this bed!” Fang pleaded.

Serah moved closer to Fang’s bed. After almost two weeks of being stuck in a hospital bed, the brunette’s face and various parts of her body were finally starting to lose the bruises. Within a day her face was cherry red, a few days later and the black and blue had become so prominent, she looked more like an abuse case than someone in a car accident. Unfortunately, the young nurse had seen them both and sometimes you couldn’t tell one from the other at first sight.

“You remind me so much of Claire, you two are so alike it’s scary.”

At the melancholy look on the brunette’s face, Serah nearly signed out loud. They were so, much alike, she wished she could smack Fang on the arm. Instead, Serah carried on, just as she had with her sister.

“Have you talked with Claire yet, Fang? It would do you a world of good to speak with someone else that has been in your shoes.”

“No, well, just for a few minutes.”

Serah reached over and gave Fang’s hand a squeeze.

“Talk to her. If she said she would discuss the accident with you, she will.”

The young nurse didn’t give her patient time to respond, there really wasn’t anything to say. Fang would either pout about it or do something and Serah hoped that she was right about how similar the two women were. Claire had briefly fallen into that “poor me” frame of mind but she didn’t let it last long. Hopefully, Fang had the same drive.

Fang for her part was both frustrated and thoughtful. She hadn’t really had a chance to speak with Dr. Farron and having a conversation with her had been on her mind. But what else could you say besides the obvious? It sucked and Fang was beyond ready to get out of this bed, like yesterday. The surly attitude returned though and when Claire walked into the brunette’s room, it was like deja vu. She’d seen that scowl before, on her own face. How you might ask? Serah stuck a mirror in front of her face to make her see reality. God bless her little sister.

“I know that look. Hopefully, the news I have will put a smile on your face.”

Fang couldn’t count the number of times she’s come close to asking Dr. Farron, “how would you know?” Instead, the thought of something positive clamped her mouth shut. If she knew how amused her doctor was at that moment, she’d likely have cursed her out. Instead, she just stared at Claire expectantly.

“Your condition has improved enough for us to start working on those legs of yours. Dr. Hess has you scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning. Depending on how things go, we can start making arrangements to have you discharged from the hospital towards the end of next week.”

There was visible relief on Fang’s face, although at the moment she wasn’t considering where she would go, and how things would be once she left. Aside from reading Jesse’s letter, she’d made no attempts at contacting him or finding out just what she would come across when she was finally able to leave. Had the brunette been looking ahead, the news likely wouldn’t have sounded that wonderful to her.

“Finally, I’m sick of this bed. If it wasn’t for your mean sister, I’d have been out of here sooner.”  
Claire nearly laughed.

“Serah, mean? My sister is a lot of things, Fang, but mean is not one of them.”

If she’d thought the brunette had been serious or was being spiteful and malicious toward her sister, the conversation would have gone very differently. But when Fang said what she had, it was more disappointment and longing. And from the look that their patient had cast in her direction, Claire knew it was more out of the frustration of her situation.

“ How about you, Dr. Farron, care to partake in a hospital break?”

This time, Claire did laugh. 

“Well, this is better than threatening to kill someone,” Dr. Farron replied.

If it was one thing that only one other person outside of herself knew, Fang abhorred violence. The thought of laying a hand on another individual did not cross her mind. And the look of shock must have been evident on her face because it brought Claire up short.

“Damn, doc, what do you take me for?”

“Sorry, Fang. It was meant as a joke, a poor joke at that, now that I think about it. I was speaking of my own attitude and temperament when I was lying where you are now.” 

The brunette leaned back on her pillow, her comment bringing to mind her conversation with Serah. If Dr. Farron was really genuine about her offer, maybe making a friend inside the hospital would help pass the time stuck in this prison. 

“Be honest with me, doc, how much of this convalescence am I looking at?”

Claire, who had been standing beside Fang’s bed, pulled up a chair. This had been the question on her mind many times. She understood the brunette’s situation and how easily your temper could flair when you were not balanced within yourself. Her emotions had been over the charts, and if it hadn’t been for Serah, the young doctor was sure she’d have had an entirely different outcome from the accident. And as far as Dr. Farron knew, Fang had no one.

“I wish I had a magic number, believe me, Fang; when I was in your place that’s what I wanted to hear. But the truth is, there is no magic number and recovery is always dependent on the person, how well their body responds and the state of mind the individual has towards their circumstance. If I were to approximate, using my own experience and what the medical reports say, you are looking at easily 6 months, and that includes surgery, recovery, and therapy. By the time you’re able to start using your legs again, the muscles in your legs will have to be retrained to walk and function. It’s not just your legs that were injured, you suffered nerve and spinal damage. You’re lucky you have a chance to walk at all. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but the truth is always better than trying to dress things up.”

Claire could see the moisture swimming in Fang’s eyes, but the young woman sucked it up and moved on as if she’d just been talking about the weather. Was the woman just that good at controlling her emotions and dealing with life’s circumstances, or was it something else? Through her own experience and work at the hospital, Dr. Farron’s gut twisted in concern. Again, she was struck at how lucky she was that she’d had Serah and outside of her sister, she had the hospital staff who had known her parents. Leaning forward from her seat, the young doctor placed her hand on the brunettes.

“So, what about running, will that happen, or is it the same answer.”

“You’re chances are pretty good, Fang. You’re looking at about a 75% chance of returning to competition.”

Talking about her recovery was becoming exhausting, and the brunette was eager to move onto another topic that did not involve herself. In order to keep the good doctor from talking about it more, she changed the subject from herself to Claire.

“How did you handle it, the accident and being stuck in a bed?”

Claire barked out a laugh and shook her head.

“Poorly, very poorly.”

Surprisingly, Fang found it very difficult to imagine Dr.Farron acting poorly about anything. Every encounter she’d had with the good doctor spoke of a very nice, professional and caring person. Actually, the brunette had found both sisters to be very pleasant in her interactions with them. 

“Hard to imagine,” Fang replied.

“I wish that were the case, but I’m afraid not. Serah can attest to it, she received the brunt of my attitude.”

Claire stood up, letting go of her touch on Fang’s hand. It seemed that neither woman noticed the touch or remarked about it if they did.

“I have other rounds to make and Serah and I have a previous engagement after work, but I’ll make you a promise. If you’re interested in talking about this more, I’ll come in and see you this weekend.”

The truth was, the two were busy packing and anxious to get the move done and over with. In the two weeks that Fang had been in the hospital, the sisters had managed to get the house rented out, the items they were bringing with them to the new house boxed, and a date set for the pick up of items they were letting go. The weekend would be busy, but since they would be close to the hospital, Claire would take the time to come in and see the brunette and give her a chance to talk. 

“Seriously, you’d do that?”

“I would.”

There was no sense rehashing this conversation about her sticking to her word, so Claire left it up to Fang. If the brunette took her up on the offer she would see that it wasn’t an empty offer, and maybe talking with the brunette would ease the good doctor’s own concerns. 

“Can you smuggle a pizza in here, while you’re at it?”

Claire laughed.

“I think that can be arranged, provided there are no restrictions on your diet.”

Fang groaned.

“Damn, you’re both mean. Killjoy.”

Dr. Farron smiled, patting Fang on the hand and bid her farewell until the weekend. Despite the feeling of being left in prison, at least the brunette had something to look forward to. If she had to stay in this bed any longer, she’d plan her own escape.

By the time their day had ended, both Claire and Serah were ready to leave. Dr. Farron had made a point to stick her head into Fang’s room to tell her she’d see her Sunday afternoon, with a pizza. It had been enough for the brunette to show a little sign of joy at the prospect of company and food outside of the hospital. Of course, the sudden mark of change in their patient’s attitude was a topic of conversation on the way home.

“You seemed to have brightened her day. Did Fang ask you about your own accident?” Serah inquired.

“Yes, but I didn’t really have the time to dedicate to all of her questions. But I think it was more the idea of company and pizza that really seemed to help,” Claire remarked.

“Still, I’m glad that the conversation was initiated. I think it will help her deal with being stuck in that bed if she had someone else’s experiences to share.”

“You’re not wrong, Serah. I don’t mind talking to Fang at all, I just wish that it wasn’t the staff in the hospital that the woman had to speak with. I’m blessed to have had you, and from what I’ve seen, she’s had no one.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen this Claire, and it definitely won’t be the last. Hopefully, sharing your own experience with her will help her out. At least she’ll know she has someone caring for her that understands her pain and frustration. As much as I’d love to ease some of that, it’s difficult for me to completely understand her.”

Claire smiled as her eyes momentarily looked at her sister.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Serah. You have a lot to offer anyone.”

Serah was mentally prepared to climb into bed with her sister at the first signs of a nightmare. People could think what they wanted to, but it was comforting to have someone close when the world just seemed so unbearable. She didn’t have to offer, it was that unspoken thing between the two and Claire’s baby sister would be there without a word if she was needed. But Claire, for her part, had hoped that the day would come that she didn’t need that at all. Truth was, she hadn’t needed it for a long time, but with Fang, rehashing the past could prove to be a bit challenging. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be and honestly, it was more habit than need when her sister came to comfort her. But the offer was still there and unspoken.

Saturday seemed to be a blur. Between the constant in and out of the moving van with boxes and furniture, the two sisters had a donation truck come and pick up their parent’s things. Claire and Serah had already agreed upon and discussed what would become of the bulk of their parent’s things. By the time evening had begun to roll around, a copy of the keys were given to the realtor, the van was packed and the two siblings were ready to make the trek back into town. It was a done deal, they were ready to start a new chapter in their lives.

Serah would follow her sister in the car, while Claire drove the moving van. The siblings had agreed to set up the beds tonight and order take out. Sunday would be spent working on organizing the house and unloading the truck. It seemed like too much for a weekend, but Dr. Farron was a planner and well organized, and any major undertaking for the move had already been handled. Tables, chairs, couch, recliners, all of that had been delivered during the week. The furniture the two siblings dealt with were their beds and dressers and the packed boxes from their respective rooms.

When Claire and Serah arrived at the house, it was starting to get dark. The youngest Farron helped her sister with the beds and dressers and any boxes needed for tomorrow before locking up the van and taking off to pick up their dinner. Meanwhile, the eldest Farron put the beds together and had them made before her sister even returned. When her younger sibling arrived with the Chinese food, the two sisters ate like there was no tomorrow. 

“I noticed Fang’s bear was not in the room this morning,” Claire remarked breaking the silence.

“No, she asked one of the nurses to give it to the little girl across from her room,” Serah replied.

Her sister hummed before taking a bite of her food. The two spent the rest of the time chatting about work before moving on to other topics. Before the two settled in for bed, they’d decided to spend some time next week to go to the clinic. They needed to meet this new gal anyway and it would give them an opportunity to take care of some unfinished business for their parents. When Claire laid her head down to sleep, Fang was the last thing on her mind as she fell asleep. 

*****

People were great at lying to themselves, burying pain and heartache so deep that they denied that it had ever happened, or had no memory of the event. But give life time, and when the body and the mind could no longer avoid the past; all of it would come out in the ugliest of ways. Claire would be the first to attest that if you did not deal with your “problems” in life or avoided them, they would come back to haunt you. What was worse, was denying the pain had ever existed or that it hadn’t really hurt you. Dr. Farron had been lucky to learn to deal with her bullshit when it happened before it turned the young woman into an ugly monster who died miserable and alone.

Claire had been one of the lucky ones, she had been spared and had learned that lesson young. She’d heard the stories past on by doctors, nurses and people in the medical field that had watched people die screaming and afraid. And death did not discriminate, you didn’t have to be old and in poor health, it took anyone. But for Fang, she was like many people in the world, emotionally stunted. The brunette had locked away those horrible memories so far back, she’d thought them lost and forgotten. 

In Fang’s mind, the memories were best left forgotten and besides she had moved on. In her thoughts, she’d dealt with the pain of those long-ago days. The suffering of the first beating and not understanding why mommy and daddy were hurting her, she’d been a good girl. She had dealt with them yelling at her and calling her good for nothing. She’d excused the use of the drugs and the lack of food in the house because mommy and daddy had needed their “medicine”. And when her parents had allowed that man to touch her, she’d been the adult and told someone and the judge had agreed, she was adult enough to be emancipated from them.

Yes, Fang was an adult, she’d been living and functioning as one for a long time. You wouldn’t be able to tell the woman otherwise. The brunette had graduated from high school and college and with good grades. And Fang accomplished whatever she set her mind too, whether it was breaking records in distance competitions, learning martial arts, managing her health and her finances. She was an adult and fuck anyone who said differently. But wasn’t that the issue? Her attitude and her thinking could be juvenile, even if she hadn’t managed to let it show. 

And lying here in a bed, with almost a week’s worth of consciousness was beginning to create cracks within the brunette’s armor. That steel resolve that she had convinced herself she had concerning life and how unkind it could be was wavering ever so slightly. That lie, she’d been telling herself since she was a child, the trauma and never admitting that she wasn’t okay, it was making her restless. She had nowhere to run too, trapped in this prison unable to leave, Fang was stuck with only her thoughts.

As the brunette flipped through tv channels, she ignored the aching feeling in her heart and her eyes began to water. At first, she dismissed it as dust or some unknown irritant and the growing pain in her chest, it was anything other than the beginnings of a panic attack. The crazy was coming. How long would she be able to deny it for what it was, how long would she be able to keep it at bay? Fang was a master at pushing away the pain, she was a professional, and the pro artfully focused on Sunday. At least then, pizza would give her an excuse to dismiss this growing pain as indigestion.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang continues to slowly unravel as she is trapped in the hospital recovering from her injuries, while Claire and Serah begin to unpack and settle into their new home. What will become of the time that the two share on Sunday and the possibilities that even a friendship might open up for both women?

Friday after Claire left, Fang was overjoyed about the prospect of company on Sunday. She wouldn’t admit that it was because she was lonely, it was a thought that didn’t even enter her mind. But the truth was, her soul felt like a desert and her heart like it had been staked to bake in the sun. But the brunette, she was convinced it was because she was bored beyond tears and could use the company to occupy her mind. There was one truth, the former marathon runner could admit though, she was looking forward to getting to know Dr. Farron. 

But as with all issues that were never dealt with, in the quiet hours, they slowly began to creep in and reign havoc on your mind. As the afternoon turned into evening, Fang found herself having pains in her chest again. It was easy to excuse, because the brunette  _ did  _ **_not_ ** have panic attacks, and fear was something she’d conquered long ago. No, this was food related, she’d convinced herself, the tightness from indigestion from laying in the damn bed, and nothing more. 

Her restlessness did not go unnoticed by the charge nurse and any of the other nurses on the ward. Of course the brunette made the excuse that it was being stuck in the bed, which in some aspects was not a lie. Needless to say, outside of giving Fang something to sleep, she was up most of the night. Exhaustion was the final straw and by Saturday morning, she just fell into a blissful oblivion. 

By the time she woke up late Saturday afternoon, excitement was building again at the prospect of a visitor and pizza. It was something normal, something she’d be doing with...Jesse , her mind filled in. It’s usually in those moments in time that an individual takes stock of their live situation, but Fang had done a stupendous job at denial and keeping people at arm's length. Outside of one other individual and Jesse, not many had ever penetrated the brunette’s bubble of protection. But at this point in time, even in such a few short days, whether her mind would admit it or not, the former runner would do anything to have some kind of human connection.

Not wanting to stay awake all night again and miss out on her visit with Dr. Farron, Fang had asked for something to help her sleep. Nightmares had been a thing in her childhood and at this stage in her life, it wasn’t something she’d have expected. But life had turned upside down and sideways again and the brunette had skeletons in her closet that were pounding on the door to be let out, it was getting too crowded in there. 

Fang’s mother grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward her room. It hurt and she didn’t understand why mommy was taking her to her room. She’d been a good girl. She’d been placed on her bed rather forcefully and told to stay put and not to leave her room. The young girl had learned early not to question her parent’s as to why and sometimes she forgot. She stayed, just like she was told and her mother closed and locked the door. 

**SLAM!**

Fang jumped at the sound and ran to the far corner of her room, hidden by her bed. The loud voices came then, and she didn’t understand. Her mommy and daddy were doing the things they scolded her about. You were not supposed to be loud like this. She clapped her hands over her ears and stayed that way until the loud voices stopped. It frightened her, she didn’t like this feeling and she was confused that it was coming from her parents. 

The door suddenly burst open and Fang cringed in the corner. It was a monster, and it was going to get her. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to run to and she was trapped. She could hear it’s heavy breathing and she whimpered as tears slid down her face, her heart beat fast in her chest. Fang was terrified. 

The coils on her bed creaked and she shut her eyes as tight as they would go. If she was quiet, the beast would go away, and so the little girl held her breath and wished as hard as she could to make the creature vanish. Fang heard it breath, it was so loud, louder than her rapidly beating heart. Her own breathing seemed to synchronize with the monster. It was closer, she knew and she curled up as small as she could in the corner. 

Suddenly, all was quiet and the little girl waited. Slowly she began to relax the tight ball she was in, the hands cupped over her ears and the eyes she had slammed shut. Slowly, she began to open her eyes, what she saw was jagged teeth and red eyes. Fang screamed.

The monitor alarms went off as Fang’s heart rate and pulse spiked through the roof. The injured woman was sweating and her breathing was heavy and labored. But probably the most startling to the nurse on duty was the blood curdling scream that followed the brunette out of her dream. The nurse had never moved so fast in her life, night terrors in adults were rare, but she knew the signs when she saw them. And her charge had all the symptoms that she could see.

Fang was thrashing in her sleep and the nurse reached across her body to restrain her. It was bad enough that the brunette was already injured, what possible damage could she have done to herself if she continued to move about as she was. Honestly, the creepiest thing to happen was to see the still sleeping woman’s eyes open and stare with fright at nothing. The biggest concern however was the fear that the brunette would try to jump out of bed and run around. Luckily for the nurse, her charge calmed within a few moments. 

Once the brunette was settled, the nurse on duty noted the incident in her chart. By morning they could do some more investigating as to whether this was truly a night terror or just a bad nightmare. Unfortunately, for Fang, she was likely to be feeling the pain of moving about so abruptly and violently. The rest of the evening passed without further incident. 

By the time Fang woke Sunday morning, she felt more tired than she had the previous day. The duty nurses had changed, but it didn’t matter she was beginning to recognize each one of them and learning their names. The brunette pushed the call button and waited as the current nurse on duty walked into her room.

“Good morning. Rebecka tells me you had a bad night last night. How are you feeling?”

Fang gave the woman a perplexed look.

“Bad night, how? I slept the entire night. I don’t feel like I slept the best and…” Fang groaned.

“Why does my damn body hurt so bad today?”

“Rebecka said you were thrashing around in your sleep. She came into your room after you screamed and set the monitors off.”

Fang’s head hit the pillow. Well, that would explain why her body ached so bad and why she didn’t feel rested, but for the life of her she didn’t recall having any dreams.

“Fang, we’ll have the doctors look into it further, if you’re having night terrors will have to take precautions so you don’t injure yourself further. Until then, try to rest up, I understand Dr. Farron is coming to visit today.”

“Yeah,” Fang replied more grateful than she realized at the pending visit. 

“Bringing pizza too,” she added with a smile.

Fang laid back and took the nurses advice. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to rest, but long before Dr. Farron knocked on her door, the brunette fell asleep watching television.

  
  


******

  
  


Claire woke up refreshed. Normally waking up in a strange place, even on vacation left her restless the first night. It just wasn’t home, it was a foreign place where there were no memories of comfort, security or joy. Ironically enough, she found Serah in the kitchen unloading boxes into the cupboards. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one that slept well, because Serah was not known to be up early on her days off. But there was an excitement in the air about a new place and new beginnings for them both.

After a quick run through of the kitchen, the sisters were able to make a quick breakfast and sit down at the table. The morning discussion revolved around the day's activities and what they wanted to accomplish for the day. 

“Do you need the car for the day?” 

“No, you can use it Serah. I’ll walk to the hospital and have pizza delivered.”

“I’ll head to the clinic to meet this potential employee, that way you can focus your time on Fang. I think she could really use it,” Serah added. 

Lightning hummed as she took a bite of her food. The same thought had crossed her mind when she’d spoken to the brunette on Friday. 

“We see too many people come through the hospital with no visitors, it’s an uneasy feeling knowing they may not have anyone,” Claire replied. 

The two sisters finished their breakfast and went about unpacking for a few hours before showering, changing and going their separate ways. Claire pre-ordered the pizza to have it delivered about the time for her to arrive at the hospital. The walk over to the building would give her the chance to get a closer look at all of the other construction that had been taking place. One of those construction projects was a nursing home and housing for those that could not take care of themselves, or needed extended but not necessary permanent care. 

The housing outside of the nursing facility itself was perfect for someone that was in Fang’s position. Someone who needed physical therapy, but didn’t need to be stuck in a hospital the entire time of recovery. This type of housing would be for those without family that might not have the ability to drive themselves to and from their medical appointments. And it wasn’t the first time that Dr. Farron wondered if Fang would be staying in one of these new little houses for her after care. If the good doctor recalled, the HR department had already set up the means for people to use different types of funds to pay for the use of these houses.

As Claire walked toward the hospital, she stopped to really get a look at the housing. If Fang did not have anyone, they weren’t bad little homes and she’d have transportation provided if she needed it to and from each appointment. It was meant to be a transitory type housing, with no intention of someone staying permanently. If that were to happen, they would be transferred to the nursing facility and be assigned a room. 

Claire checked her watch and moved on down the sidewalk toward her destination. She’d no sooner stepped in the door than the pizza delivery man showed up at the registration desk with their pizza. With a quick signature and thanks she headed toward the elevators and the ICU ward. She smiled and waved at the nurse on duty before heading to Fang’s room. With a knock on the door, she opened it up. A look of concern touched her features at the pallid complexion and dark circles under the brunette’s eyes.

“Hello, Fang? Are you feeling alright today?”

In a swift and fluid motion that belied the loss of a leg, Claire had set the pizza down and was up next to the brunette’s bed. The doctor gently laid the back of her hand against the side of Fang’s cheek, feeling for heat before her patient had uttered a word.

“Damn, doc, this is supposed to be a social visit,” Fang croaked.

“Sorry, habit and you are a patient of mine, Fang.”

The brunette huffed, not wanting this to be a diagnostic session.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let it go, for now.”

“I’ll make you a promise doc, we don’t talk about my health off the clock and I’ll let you ask whatever question you want about it tomorrow, deal?”

“Alright, Fang. As long as you promise me that you’ll talk to me about it and you start calling me Claire.”

“Deal,  _ Claire _ .” Fang replied. 

Claire excused herself and went out to the nurses station to grab a few paper plates in the nurses hidden stash. With plates, napkins, silverware and drinks in hand she headed back into Fang’s room. 

“How did you know what I wanted to drink,” Fang inquired.

Claire shrugged and replied with a smile.

“It’s what you ask the nurses for most of the time.”

The smell of pizza drew the brunette’s attention and her stomach finally responded, drawing a laugh out of the good doctor. Claire sat down in a chair next to Fang’s bed as they dug into their food. The distance runner had several questions that had boiled to the top of her thoughts while she chewed on her food. She’d received another laugh from her doctor when she’d groaned in ecstasy on the first bite. 

“What can I say, my stomach hasn’t had a decent slice of pizza in awhile,” Fang mused.

“I’m surprised you eat it at all? I’ve not known a lot of runners who like to eat something most consider unhealthy.” 

“It’s always been a guilty pleasure,” Fang admitted.

“I’d sneak pizza once in a while even during training. It’s my guilty sin as a runner. I’ve never been one for sweets, so pizza is my vice.” 

Claire nodded in understanding.

“I was the opposite. I love sweets, it’s difficult for me to say no when it's readily available.”

Fang looked at Claire, imagining the doctor gorging herself on dessert and she just couldn’t see it. Her eyes took in the doctor as she sat there eating her slice of pizza. There wasn’t a stitch of fat on her, so either she was very controlled in watching what she ate, or she worked extra hard to keep it off.

“That’s hard to believe. Just looking at you, you don’t come across as a person with a sweet addiction.”

Seeing how studiously Fang was observing her caused Claire to blush. It wasn’t like this was the first time anyone had ever stared at her, but she’d just never really gotten used to it. 

“That’s pretty impressive, Claire,” Fang began.

“I’ve never seen anyone go from one color to pink so fast. It almost matches the rose colored hair,” Fang teased. 

“I wish I could say that I’m not a sugar addict, but just ask Serah, she’ll tell you,” Claire replied, ignoring the teasing from the brunette. 

“Joking aside though, you didn’t mention this before, but your parents died in that accident, didn’t they?”

The good doctor nearly choked on her pizza. Fang wasn’t playing with the questions, she went right for the jugular. Normally, it would have been rude or seemed callous to be so bold with a question to someone you barely knew. Claire let it slide though, she had mentioned she’d been talking with them when the accident occured. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a sad subject,” Fang replied after seeing Claire’s reaction.

“No, I did mention they were in the car when we last talked. Yes, to answer your question, they did die in the accident.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know how that would feel. I can only imagine that it must be painful.”

“It wasn’t easy. I had survivor’s guilt for a while and Serah had to put up with my bad attitude, but she’s the reason I pulled myself out of the private pity party I was having.”

“I have a difficult time seeing you pouting about anything, doc. I mean Claire,” Fang amended.

The doctor chuckled and shook her head.

“It would be nice to think that, but I’m human, Fang, and subject to all of the nastiness that involves given how much I allow to feed it within me.”

“How long were you in the hospital?”

“A couple of months to start out with, and then a few more times when physical therapy and the implants weren’t agreeing with one another.”

“Implants?” Fang queried as she gave Dr. Farron another head to toe inspection.

“You don’t look like you’ve had a scratch on you,” the brunette replied.

“You wouldn’t see the scarring from surgery, but I lost my leg in that accident.”

Fang did a double take, blatantly staring at Claire, bringing another blush to her face.

“I’ve seen people with prosthetic legs, you don’t walk like they do,” Fang observed.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Dr. Farron responded.

“The leg is more mechanical, it’s fastened into my hip joint with screws and pins. It was completely experimental at the time I had it done, but without the scarring from surgery, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it wasn’t my natural leg.”

Fang raised an eyebrow in disbelief. She’d seen prosthetic legs, they did not look like a real leg in any shape or form.

“How do you hide fake skin?”

Claire colored again and she began the lengthy conversation that was given to her several years ago about the texture used for the leg. Apparently, in the sex toy world, the dolls had become so very life like, that the “skin” felt and resembled the real thing. By the time Dr. Farron had told her, Fang had nearly choked on her own pizza laughing so hard. 

“You have skin they use on sex dolls?! This I gotta feel!” Fang exclaimed. 

Dr. Farron was grateful that the door to Fang’s room was closed, because not only was the comment entirely inappropriate, but it had caused the young woman to become beet red. In hindsight, she should have filtered the amount of information she’d given to her patient. How had she allowed the topic of conversation to go this far south? Much to the brunette’s chagrin, the good doctor told her no, with the promise that once she was no longer her patient and in her care, she would allow the runner to see the truth about the loss of her leg.

Despite the awkward moments, that she herself had allowed to happen or had opened up for discussion, Claire had a fun time with Fang. The brunette was brash, rude and inappropriate at times, leaving the good doctor to wonder if it was her natural state or if she just didn’t have a proper social upbringing. But as Dr. Farron began to make moves to leave for the day, she could tell that the brunette was doing anything in her power to keep her there. In conclusion, the young woman was beginning to think that the runner’s issues had to do with socialization. 

As Claire walked home, she pondered the idea that she could be friends with Fang. Maybe once she was done with her surgeries and had moved on to physical therapy, Dr. Farron could entertain that idea. Despite some of the unbecoming social behavior, the young woman found the brunette to be charming, intelligent and pleasant to be around. Time would tell though, because it was quite possible that Fang would move on as soon as she was given the opportunity. Her clinginess might be related to being cooped up in the hospital, so there was no need to entertain developing a friendship with the woman quite yet.

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serah gets to meet the new gal the clinic wants to hire, and the two young women hit it off. Fang reflects on the previous day she shared with Claire and finds out a piece of the doctor's past. A new light seems to kindle in the darkness for the brunette, but will the past come back to haunt her? Will the light she's always dreamed of save her from the terror that has chased her all her life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this chapter forward, we will move Fang out of the hospital and to her new home while she's going through therapy. More surprises await the brunette and many of them will not be pleasant. Fang will have to face her past in more ways than one and her actions and behavior will cause rifts between her and Claire. Hold on to your seats, things will get bumpy from here on out.

Serah had left her sister at home Sunday to head to the clinic to meet the new potential employee, with the intention of giving her an invitation to the house for dinner so that Claire could meet with her. Dr. Reynolds, who the younger Farron daughter thought of as an uncle, was currently in his office speaking with someone when she arrived. The first thing that caught the young nurse was the distinct accent, much like Fang’s. The irony was enough to make her chuckle with laughter in her head. 

Serah knocked on the door, only opening it when Dr. Reynolds replied to come in. Sitting in one of the chairs at his desk, a redheaded woman turned to see who had entered. It was almost instant, the smile on the young nurse’s face, returned to the smiling woman. It was infectious, the woman in the doctor’s room had this energetic and pleasant aura about her. The youngest Farron didn’t know who she was, but it was like an instant liking, just from her pleasant attitude.

“Hello Serah, come right in. This is Vanille, one of the hopefuls applying for the psychologist position at the clinic.” 

Vanille stood up and held out her hand to Serah.

“Hello, Vanille Dia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi, Serah Farron.” 

“Serah, why don’t you and Vanille head take a working lunch, it will give you both a chance to get to know each other. I have some appointments to take care of, I’ll see you two back here in a few hours.”

“Of course, Dr. Reynolds,” Serah replied. 

Dr. Reynolds shook his head. The Farron’s always so formal, even when the entire clinic was like a family. But he understood, he had worked with their parents after all. While the doctor headed out of his office to tend to patients, Serah offered to drive them to a local restaurant where they could eat lunch and get to know each other better. The youngest Farron couldn’t help the biased opinion that she liked the young lady and was on board for having her work at the clinic.

Once they were settled at a table, the two continued their conversation from the ride over. It had been the usual questions and answers one would ask at an interview regarding qualifications and such. It’s what Serah would refer to as the boring but necessary parts of an interview, but that’s not all that the young nurse spoke about, they also talked about their childhood and where their interests for their chosen career path had originated from. It was the direction she was naturally headed with while talking with Vanille.

“Vanille, I have to ask you, your name is very unique, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it before.”

The redhead giggled, nearly causing Serah to do the same.

“I’d like to think it’s because my parents were hippies or at least children of hippies. You have no idea how many times I’ve had to correct people from calling me vanilla.”

This time, Serah giggled.

“Are your parents not alive?” Serah asked, picking up on the past tense remark.

“No, they died when I was young. It’s their death and subsequently ending up in the orphanage that brought about the choice to work in the psychology field. I didn’t have any relatives to take me in, so I was put in the system. I met a girl there that was a few years older than me. She was, and I still consider, the closest thing I ever had to a family after my parents died.”

Serah frowned, there was a sadness in Vanille’s eyes that belied the jovial smile. It wasn’t something that the younger Farron felt comfortable asking about since they had just met, but apparently, the redhead had no qualms with talking about it.

“After my parents died, I was obviously beside myself with grief and confusion. Here I had a loving and supporting family and then I’m suddenly stuck in a place with other children that were in the same position. I felt alone and scared, but that’s when I met an older girl who had ended up there too. I thought we’d all ended up there for the same reasons, it turned out each girl had a different story, we were not all there by the same circumstances. Being in the orphanage was very enlightening, and sad.” 

Vanille took a sip of her drink to gather her thoughts, there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of her, the crazy older girl that was so protective of her.

“This girl, we bonded so quickly. It took a while for me to get used to her, she changed her name on a daily basis and still hadn’t settled on one by the time we’d been separated for good.”

Serah gave the redhead a confused look and received a laugh in understanding.

“That’s how I felt. I’d asked her her name and she’d told me that she hadn’t decided. She didn’t want to be known by her birth name and always cursed out the workers at the orphanage when they used her given name. She told me that she hadn’t had the opportunity to change it legally. I had no idea that was something you could do until I met her. I’d know her by looks, but I’m not sure what name she’d be calling herself now.”

“How did you two get separated?”

“Little known fact, the younger you are, the more adoptable you are. I was two years younger than her but we were both considered past that adoptable age. The system just keeps you until you’re either legally an adult or someone takes you in. I got lucky, someone wanted me but not her. She was, as far as I was concerned, my sister, but we weren’t blood. They sent her to another facility on the day of my adoption. It was mainly because of her that I wanted to go into psychology. She had a really bad childhood and bad things just seemed to keep happening to her.”

Vanille had to pause again, she hadn’t mentioned the girl's name and she wouldn’t. Truth was, she wasn’t entirely sure what name to call her even now. She knew the girl's favorite name, the one she called her, but was that even truly her name? And then there was the patient confidentiality. True, they were children, but what had been divulged to her so long ago felt like something she could not share in its entirety without the other girl’s permission. It would be like discussing a clinical case without naming names or giving away identities. She would still be keeping the secret and a promise.

“We had several years together, she was like a guardian over me,” Vanille remembered fondly.

“I still think of her as a sister, I wish I knew where she was. It didn’t matter to me if I never knew her true name, it still doesn’t. She must have given about 50 different names, and she refused to answer to her birth name,” the redhead laughed.

“You’d think I’d remember at least that much, but she didn’t like it, so to me, the name didn’t exist.”

Vanille giggled again, and this time Serah couldn’t help herself.

“Now that I think about it, I was like a little puppy following her around. She’d glare at any of the other kids if they even looked at me wrong.”

“It sounds like you two were very close,” Serah commented.

“We were. You know, she wasn’t even from Australia, she was from America. She’d come out here to stay with family. She had an aunt, I think, that she was coming out to live with. But, I guess that aunt died, I don’t remember how I don’t even think she knew. Anyway, she ended up in the orphanage and after several years together, I knew everything there was about her. I was the only one. I miss her, I’ve never let her go in my heart and I’ve always hoped that our paths would cross again someday,” Vanille confided.

“I’m sorry. She sounds a lot like Claire, so protective.”

“She was. But the worst part, she didn’t have anyone and her parents…” Vanille shuddered.

“They were awful, the worst kind you could imagine and the things they did to her and allowed horrible things to happen to her…”

Serah could only imagine. Personally, she and her older sister had been blessed with wonderful parents and they were raised with the knowledge that it wasn’t so for everyone. The younger Farron sister could not help but feel for this childhood sister of Vanille.

“I suppose it was the legal system and the law that prevented you from finding her?”

“Yes, and the fact that she likely settled on a legal name I don’t remember. It would take too long to try and go through every name I knew of, to try and find her. We were kids then, she may have grown up okay and accepted her given name or came up with something completely different that I’d never heard her say.”

Vanille shrugged as she picked through her lunch. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t imagine what it all must have been like for either of you. I hope that she’s happy and has found peace from her childhood,” Serah said, drawing Vanille’s gaze.

“Me too.”

The two ate in silence for a bit, perhaps more out of respect for those lost to the system and from bad beginnings than from awkwardness. It wasn’t like the two had chosen professions that did not involve tragedy or tough situations on almost a daily basis.

“So, are you already working in your field, or was the clinic the first place you’ve applied to?” Serah said, breaking the silence.

Vanille went on to discuss with Serah her background and schooling as well as where she currently worked. Unfortunately for the redhead, the clinic was a pro bono job and that did not pay the rent. If the young psychologist could, she would do nothing but this type of work, but society wasn’t exactly set on a barter system anymore where you could exchange goods and services for a living. 

By the end of their lunch, Serah was definitely giving her vote for Vanille to be hired and she was sure that Claire would feel the same. The two young women returned to the clinic and exchanged phone numbers and a dinner date at the Farron house before the redhead left. The young nurse stayed long enough to give Dr. Reynolds approval before returning home, she had a lot to talk to her sister about.

  
  


******

Fang had more questions to ask after Dr. Farron had left. It had been enough to occupy her mind and avoid another night of dreaming. To say the brunette was anxiously awaiting the doctor’s arrival in the morning was an understatement. She’d pounced on Serah the moment the young woman entered her room. 

“Hey Serah, I have a question about your sister.”

The anxious and smiling face that Serah met was a complete turn around from what she’d witnessed since the brunette’s accident. Claire had obviously done a lot for Fang with just visiting her yesterday. It was a great thing to see and the young nurse hoped that it would continue.

“Shouldn’t you be asking my sister?”

“It’s not a personal question, at least I don’t think.”

“Well, you can ask, but if it’s something Claire needs to answer, I’ll direct you to her.”

“Alright, deal. I just wanted to know if your sister was a runner, there was something she said while we were talking yesterday that I didn’t catch onto until later.”

Knowing that it wasn’t something that Claire would care if she answered, Serah alleviated the brunette’s curiosity. 

“Yes, Claire was a sprinter in school. She was actually really good, to the extent she had college’s looking at her and an invitation to try out for the Olympics.”

“And the car accident changed all that,” Fang surmised.

Serah gave Fang a sad nod of her head. What could you say to something like that? The reality of the situation hit the brunette and it took her a moment as she processed what this meant and just how much Claire really would understand her situation. The only difference, Fang hadn’t lost a limb and barring any unseen complications, she would return to running. 

“What made you ask, Fang?”

The brunette laughed.

“Of all things, we were talking about food and she said she was surprised that I ate pizza being a runner. I told her it was my guilty secret sin and without saying that she was a runner, she told me hers was sweets.”

Serah laughed, nodding her head in agreement.

“It is, she’s a bear when she doesn’t get sweets when a craving hits her.”

“Who’s a bear for what?” Claire asked entering the room. 

Serah suddenly found herself coughing at the sudden entrance of her older sister, followed by Fang who had started laughing at the younger sister’s sudden embarrassment. If it wasn't for the safety of their patient’s health the coughing fits might have gone on a little longer with a perplexed doctor wondering what was going on. The red face on Serah gave away the fact that it wouldn’t stay hidden forever. 

Fang’s sudden laughter had brought on a bout of pain from the sudden jarring movements, prompting a quick end to the conversation. Despite the pain, the brunette found it difficult not to calm herself, especially when Claire cast her younger sister a glare she’d never seen from her doctor before. After several moments, and an embarrassed Serah, the two were able to get their patient to relax and take slow breaths.

“Don….don’t be angry at her, Claire,” Fang replied as she caught her breath. 

“She was just making a comment about your sweet addiction.”

As everything clicked into place, the older sister couldn’t help another glare at her baby sister. It was one thing to confirm the addiction, it was quite another to tell the brunette she was a bear when she had a craving. Serah quickly excused herself, knowing she was likely to get an earful at lunchtime, if not sooner. A pair of green eyes watched intently, as she tracked the movements and reactions between the two sisters. She couldn’t help but stifle another bout of laughter. 

Turning back to look at Fang, Claire couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. The brunette was radiant when she smiled and laughed. It was easy for her to see what might have attracted Jesse to her, to begin with. Outside of the few negative things she’d encountered so far, the distance runner was really quite amiable. 

“Perhaps I misspoke about asking Serah anything about me,” Claire replied.

Fang quickly sobered. Whether she understood it at the time remained to be seen, but there was something about Serah that triggered that old feeling of protection within her. The last thing she would want to do was bring down some unwarranted fury on Serah, not that she thought Claire would do such a thing.

“Hey, don’t be angry with her. I just asked her if you had been a runner too. The thought occurred to me after you left, based on things we’d talked about. That’s all it was, and she confirmed what you said about the sweets. Seriously, Claire, be upset with me.”

Claire was taken aback by the sudden seriousness, surely the brunette had seen her smile and shake her head at the situation. The doctor had found it funny as well, even if it had been at her own expense. And even that was not a big deal to the elder Farron in the long run, it was just a good excuse to tease her younger sister.

“I’m not upset, I won’t promise that I won’t torment Serah for a while about it, but it’s all in good fun. We know where to draw the line with each other.” 

Fang seemed to accept Claire’s answer and visibly relaxed, the smile returning to her face. Whether the brunette was aware of it, she was starting to really enjoy the doctor’s company. 

“So, Claire, you were a runner, huh?”

For a moment, the doctor was amazed at the quick change in the brunette’s attitude yet again, wondering how it wasn’t Fang that was the sprinter. If she changed her demeanor that quickly, how did that not pertain to everything else she did in her life? The woman was if nothing else intriguing to Claire. 

“Sprinter, actually. But yes, it was something I used to do.”

“How come you don’t run now? I mean, I’ve seen you walk, even after our conversation last night.”

Claire chuckled.

“Well, experimental as the prosthetic is, it would be considered an unfair advantage to other runners.”

“Well, that’s some bullshit if I’ve ever heard any,” Fang exclaimed.

“I mean, you still have your other leg. What do they expect your one leg to carry all your weight and speed across the track? Does no one have common sense anymore or a brain? You’d have to adjust your speed according to your remaining leg, how is that an unfair advantage?”

It had been a long time since Claire had been enthusiastic about anything concerning running, let alone talking with someone about it. Maybe it was the fact that Fang was a runner too, and the two had that shared love and connection for the sport, or maybe it was just brunette herself. Whatever it was, it caused the doctor to laugh in agreement.

“That’s what I’d said, but because the limb was considered a technological advantage, I was told I couldn’t compete professionally.”

Fang rolled her eyes, bringing a wider smile to Claire’s face.

“We can talk about it more some other time. In the meantime, I’m here to talk to you about tomorrow’s surgery and answer any of your questions.”

The brunette had perked up and Claire had assumed it was about the discussion for surgery, but in Fang’s mind, she had picked up on the prospect of more time with the good doctor. For the distance runner, she had found a fellow runner, even if it was at a quicker pace and shorter distances. This meant they had lots they could obsessively talk about if her doctor was of the mind too. Things were looking up, and Claire’s patient was full of possibilities that gave her hope and she excitedly dove into questions about tomorrow as her mind pondered the future.

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang's surgery date arrives and the inevitable issue of what she will do after surgery. Running from issues and excusing them as if they don't really affect her has been the brunette's M.O. for a long time. The cracks are starting to show and the dreams are coming back, without the warm and guiding light that saw her through the darkness so long ago. How long will Fang be able to hide things from Lightning and once outside of the hospital, what will that mean for her anchor the doctor has become?

The morning of surgery, Fang’s anxiety had crept back up, but she brushed it off like an annoying fly. If all went well, she would spend a few more days in the hospital, be discharged and begin physical therapy, first for the herniated discs in her spin and then for her legs. Although she did not acknowledge it, these simple instructions on what would happen next ingrained themselves into a tangled web of unresolved issues.

She hadn’t given a lot of thought to where she would go after being discharged. Jesse hadn’t left anything else for her other than the letter. Her divided mind told her, it wasn’t an issue, she had money saved up, she wasn’t stupid. That part of her brain was the protective part, that told her not to trust anyone because everyone was a liar and no one actually cared for you. 

But the frightened little girl, buried deep down by her own self lies and bravado was panicking. What was she going to do, where was she going to go, why did everyone always leave? She was just unworthy to love, that’s why no one ever stayed around. That’s why mommy and daddy began beating her, leaving her hungry and locked in her room, that’s why they allowed people to start touching her. This was the only way one could be loved, right?

The little girl was hysterical, but the other part of her brain reassured her that everything would be fine. The cynical part of her said that they’d always been taking care of themselves, they didn’t need anyone, that love was a lie, it was a made-up fantasy and no one ever stayed. All those movies, the stories, the actual encounters of people in love that stayed together, they were the delusional ones. 

Fang’s breathing became a little more rapid and her chest ached something fierce, she felt claustrophobic. She had to get out of this bed, but she couldn’t so she did the next best thing, the runner looked for a distraction. Seeing a familiar head of darker rose-colored hair, Fang pushed the call button. 

“Good morning, Fang, all ready for surgery?”

“Ha! Cause everyone loves going under the knife,” Fang joked.

Serah had been just as quick to pick up on things as her older sister and from her patient’s look, the nurse was not fooled at all by what was going on.

“Your respiration is up a little, are you nervous about the surgery, Fang?”

“Just...yeah, anxious to get out of this bed. Feels a little stuffy in here, I need to get out in the fresh air.”

“You know, stretch my legs,” the brunette replied with an attempt at more humour.

The blood coursed through her body like she was getting ready for a morning run and Fang’s heartbeat was a little quicker. At the same time, the brunette had sweaty palms and a dry mouth, there was a moment when she thought she was going to lose it right there in front of Serah. Fang nearly jumped out of her skin when Serah put a reassuring hand on her arm.

“You’re in the home stretch as far as your hospital stay, Fang. Take a deep breath and keep repeating it until your breathing comes under control. If it helps, Claire will be the one taking you to the OR.”

Fang had never felt so out of control with her emotions, not since she was a child. She’d worked so hard to move away from her past and now she was panicking over a little surgery. Taking Serah’s advice, she breathed deeply until her heart and rapid breaths were under control.

“Sorry, guess I’m feeling a little claustrophobic.”

“It’s alright, Fang, surgery can be a little scary, and being cooped up in a bed doesn’t help.”

Once her patient seemed under control and calm again, Serah informed her sister when she entered the ICU. It was typical for people with high anxiety to be terrified of surgery, only, Fang did not seem like your typical person with anxiety issues. As a matter of fact, she seemed very cool and confident about herself and her life, something else must be bothering her. The logical conclusion was the absence of the fiance, it was the only factor they were aware of. Claire nodded in understanding, but something kept nagging at her that it was more than that.

“Hello, Fang, ready to get this day over with and on the road to recovery?” Claire asked when she entered the room.

“Damn straight,” the brunette replied.

“So, Serah tells me that you’re having some anxiety issues. Do you want to talk about them?”

Claire moved over to the bed to stand next to Fang.

“I’ve pretty much experienced the textbook fears from: will I wake up, will I be able to run again, let alone walk, will this experiment cause more issues, am I doing the right thing, should I just deal with the fact I lost my leg?”

Claire watched Fang carefully, looking to see how her patient was responding.

“I still considered myself a runner then, Fang. I had high hopes, dreams, and aspirations. I wanted a miracle so I could continue doing what I wanted to do. Life had other plans, and in a way, I’m glad. It was a wake-up call for me. But it didn’t mean that I wasn’t afraid, my life was upside down then and I was scrambling for something to hold on to.”

Claire wasn't sure why she’d said all of that to Fang, and shrugged it off as just sharing a common experience. At least the brunette didn’t seem like it had bothered her, as a matter of fact, the good doctor could tell Fang was really listening to her. Apparently, what she’d said helped because her patient's vitals calmed even more as they talked. 

Dr. Farron had to excuse herself for a little while, during that time, Fang dealt with various medical staff coming in and explaining their part in the surgery and to get her prepared to move toward the OR. By the time Claire returned, the brunette’s vitals were still doing well and she was in the process of putting her cap on.

“What do you say doc, is it me?”

Claire laughed, if it was one thing she’d come to know about Fang, the woman was funny and sarcastic if not a bit of a smart ass.

“It would be better if it were another shade of green, to bring out your eyes.”

Fang went to waggle her eyes but found that the stitches and staples still in her skull were not too fond of the action. Claire shook her head and went over to the bed to assist the brunette.

“Let’s please not have you bleeding all over the floor before we get you to surgery, Fang.”

“Oh, come on doc, let the patient scare the medical staff for a change, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I lost it, along with a leg, several years ago,” Claire half-joked.

“Well, we’ll have to work on that. Just wait until I’m up and around, Doc.”

Claire could only smile, sometimes she had no idea how to respond to the woman. It wasn’t long before Fang was set to wheel down to the OR. She didn’t let up the entire way, as she joked until they actually put her under for surgery. Because of the brunette’s show of  anesthesia awareness, the surgical staff would have to keep an eye on her to watch for wakefulness. In the meantime, the resident would return to her other duties.

  
  


********

  
  


The issue with anesthesia awareness is that in those moments of wakefulness, the mind can conjure up some terrifying memories or events that are not based on reality. But what happens when you already have undealt with skeletons in the closet? As a precaution, Fang was put into a deeper sleep, to try and avoid the first time she’d awaken after the car crash. The brunette never figured to equate the recent anxiety to the hidden baggage. As far as she was concerned, Fang would tell you she had no worry.

Even with the precautions, Fang’s body seemed to metabolize the chemicals after a time, although the doctors would have preferred the young woman remain unconscious during the entire surgery, at least it had been no more than one incident. By the time she began to wake for a second time, she was in post OP, and the nurses were suddenly in her face asking her if she was okay, if she felt sick. 

The world spun on its axis and if it hadn’t been for the nurse, Fang was sure she would have fallen right out of the bed.

“I’m going to get sick,” Fang announced.

The nurse handed her a bag just as she threw up nothing but bile. It would have amazed the brunette that she could still get sick, despite the fact she hadn’t been allowed to have anything prior to surgery if she hadn’t felt so disoriented. Fang had hardly been sick growing up, she’d been a very healthy child so anytime that she did get sick, it felt like the end of the world. Perhaps more so because of how she currently felt. 

The brunette lay back on the bed as the nurses moved about her. Fang could hardly keep her eyes open, as the nurses bustled about, talking and occasionally asking her questions. She no longer needed to be in the ICU, so they had wheeled her to another room. Where she was at, she couldn’t tell you, the rooms looked at the same to her at the moment and all she could think about was how the world was still spinning, albeit a little slower and the dull ache that seemed far away coming from her lower extremities

It was late in the evening by the time Fang’s bed was wheeled into her new room. Her eyelids continued to close, only opening when someone else spoke her name or gently touched her arm. As tired as she was of being stuck in this bed and in the hospital, there was nothing more the brunette wanted at this moment than the sweet oblivion that sleep brought.

“Fang, it’s Dr. Farron.”

The brunette’s eyes fluttered open to the smiling doctor’s face. 

“Hey, Doc Claire,” the gravelly voice replied.

“I just wanted to stop by and see you before the end of the day. We’ll talk tomorrow when you’re a little more awake.”

The brunette was out of it, that was obvious, but the good doctor wanted to make sure that she stopped by, even if it was a trip from the house. Even if it didn’t always come to the forefront of her mind, she was always well aware that no one was there for Fang, so she and Serah would be.

“5:30 shaaarp, have to stretch first,” the slurred reply came.

Claire chuckled to herself, it was both funny and a little sad. With therapy and lots of TLC, she hoped that Fang would be able to return to what she loved so much. As the brunette fell back asleep, the doctor headed toward home. Tomorrow was a new day and a new beginning for the marathon runner.

  
  
  


******

  
  


Blood sprayed across her face and dripped onto the floor. She refused to cry, not anymore, but the desire was there in her chest hurting so bad it threatened to burst like a damn. All she wanted to do was get something to eat because they’d stopped cooking anything a long time ago. Her belly ached and the kids were starting to tease her with her wild hair and bony lanky frame. 

She had to go to school and wear clothes that covered the bruises, so no one would ask questions. But on the days that they hit her in the face, they made her stay home, said she was sick. Truth was, they didn’t care, she was a halfbreed living on the reservation where all kinds of terrible things happened. Her people were here first and when the white man came here, they took everything. Of course, she really didn’t have a comprehension of the gravity of those words, not at such a young age. But the elders told all the children that they would understand fully one day.

Maybe that’s why they turned a blind eye because her daddy was a halfbreed and it made her part of the white man too. Maybe this was why they hit her, even her dad because she was evil. She tried to tell them she wouldn’t be, she’d protect her people, she would guard and watch over them. She didn’t want to be white sometimes, she hated her green eyes, it meant she was different, she hated that her skin was just a little lighter in color. Maybe this was why her parents hated her, maybe this was why her daddy didn’t like himself.

Fang let the blood drip from her face, she concentrated on the physical pain to block out the emotional one. Her mother was high again, her father drunk and passed out on the couch. They’d lost their jobs, what money had been coming in had been spent on their needs. Life had turned upside down and the young girl didn’t understand why. Gone was the family time, the laughing, the smiling, singing and playing. Gone was the happiness, and it rarely visited anymore.

“What did I tell you about coming out of your room. Now look what you made me do, I’ll have to call you in sick again,” her mother raged.

Fang didn’t answer, she knew better. But there was a change happening inside her, her feelings were changing, she was feeling braver these days. At least outwardly, she showed them the brave part, she would cry later if it happened at all. Right now, she was numb, confused, hurt and angry. Her mother grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and drug her into her room, shoving her in as Fang stumbled to the floor. 

“ **_SLAM_ ** !” 

She heard the door latch on the outside, she was locked in again. Slowly, Fang picked herself off the floor and made her way to her bed, pulling the covers over her head. It wasn’t until she knew that neither of her parents could hear, that she finally cried. It was never loud, she’d learned to control the sobs long ago. Now, she just curled up in a ball and let the tears fall, the day's sting of injuries conducted their own protest and her hungry belly growled. 

Fang woke with a start, nearly startling Serah as she stood at the head of her bed, changing out her saline bag. Concerned eyes looked at the visibly shaken brunette.

“Fang?”

“Sorry,” the hoarse croak replied.

“Bad dream?”

“Yeah,” Fang replied, surprising herself.

Serah nodded in understanding, “Claire had them after the accident, they could get really bad at times.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Fang shook her head and Serah let it go. There was never a reason to take it personally, the two did not know each other that well so why would the brunette feel obligated to talk to a total stranger. But the nurse knew from experience that it was better out than in, and she was beginning to see a lot of parallels between Fang and her sister.

“Alright, just let me know if you need anything.”

As the week progressed, Fang had encountered many uncomfortable moments that seemed to remind her of past things she wished to forget and apparently, some new ones. Claire had been a constant all through the week and whether the brunette admitted it, an anchor, a life savor. She’d needed it, because Fang had put off many things while trapped in the bed, one of which was where she was going to live. And that had been thrust upon her to deal with when the admissions people had come in to get vital information that Jesse had not been able to give when he was at the hospital.

“Ms. Yun, there is a matter of home address. Do you have someone that can drive you to and from your appointments?”

Fang was irritated beyond belief with the woman, and to boot, she couldn’t get away from her if she wanted too. As much as she wanted out of the damn bed and hospital, Jesse had left her in a pickle about living arrangements, transportation, the list went on. She ignored that tightening of the chest and the feeling of the walls shrinking in around her. She had not noticed that Claire had stepped into the doorway as she spoke to the admissions woman.

“That address is not valid,” Fang replied.

“If I could just get a new address so that we can send…”

“I don’t have one…”

“Oh, I apologize….there is something we can offer. The hospital has built a new residential home for those that need long and short term care. Individuals that live too far out and don’t want to make the drive, or those that wish to remain for the duration of their care. If you’re interested, I can give you the information.”

Fang was quiet and the woman decided to set the information down on the tray next to the bed.

“There is one other thing, we need an emergency contact, is there anyone….”

“No,” was the only response.

“Excuse me, Andie, can you give me a moment with my patient please,” Claire’s voice sounded from the door.

Two pairs of eyes looked up and the admissions woman nodded and left the room. Claire couldn’t tell if Fang was angry or grateful for the interruption. But it had become obvious to her that she had remained quiet for too long. Once the two were alone, the young doctor closed the door and took a seat beside the brunette’s bed. 

“How are the lower back and legs feeling this morning?”

“A bit achy but the pain’s tolerable,” Fang replied.

“Good, well that brings me to my next topic. Once you’re released from the hospital, I will only be seeing you for check-ups or any unseen issues regarding your surgery. I know you already spoke with Dr. Hess and he doesn’t feel there will be a need for any more operations, barring therapy and home care.”

Claire picked up the pamphlet on the tray as Fang watched closely.

“I’m not going to beat around the bush here, I’m just going to come out and say it. I want you to seriously consider what Andie proposed to you about staying here. Not to butt into your personal life, but the situation you’re in, I have a similar story. Only, I was blessed with my parents and Serah, and after my parents died, I still had my sister. This all happened within a very short time. I didn’t discuss my personal relationship with you during our talks, but I think the time is right for you to hear about it if you are willing to listen.”

The tightness in Fang’s chest raged between the idea of her personal life possibly being displayed before others and the desire to be a decent human being and not scream at the doctor. Emotions rolled through her like a thunderstorm and despite what the doctor might be observing, she remained calm and collected in her seat. In the end, the brunette could only concede the truth, she had nowhere to go and the alternative could be done, but was too daunting a chore in her current condition. 

“Alright, Claire, on the condition that there’s pizza to go with your story.”

The doctor smiled happily and reached up to squeeze Fang’s hand.

“I’ll make you a deal, you finish up with Andie and I’ll come over myself and pick you up and wheel you over to where Serah and I live. We’ll have pizza for dinner, the most unhealthy, greasy, cheesy, meat packed, Italian tasting pizza that can be found in the state of California.”

Fang chuckled, loosening up some of that congestion from the tube that had been down her throat not hours ago.

“Deal.”

  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang is finally free of the hospital, and unexpected events begin to happen to the brunette. These occurrences are a little disturbing but not in their entirety as one turns out to be a very welcome surprise. Will the positive upturn last, or will the demons she's held at bay for so long demand their time in the sun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Events in Fang's life are beginning to change, not always for the better, but sometimes we need to lance the infection before the true healing begins. Now that our favorite brunette is out of the hospital, life is going to start crashing down on her in unexpected ways, some she'd not ever considered. Welcome to the roller coaster that is going to be Fang's life for awhile. Let's just say she's going to be very thankful to some women that are around her during this time, especially Dr. Farron. Just a forewarning, events with Claire and Fang will become heated at times and words will be exchanged that are not so nice. But it will all work out in the end, because we're all suckers for these two to remain together, even when the truth is that sometimes things don't work. And for everyone's patience, this chapter is a wee bit longer than the norm. 
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well during this pandemic. Please be safe and cautious during this time. It is ironic how poor Fang has all this solitude to have to deal with unresolved issues, while the rest of the world is in a situation to remain at home. Please, realize that it is easy for us to push away events in our lives and act as if they don't exist only to have them come screaming out at us during inopportune moments. This is a good time to get to know the good and bad sides of yourself and learn to accept both. As humans, we should strive to be the best version of ourselves and the only way to do that is by knowing yourself inside and out. The first step is always admitting that you need help and you can't do everything on your own. There are people out there that will help, and those of you of faith or looking for faith, there is someone better than another human being. 
> 
> Be safe and take care everyone! And as always, thank you for reading and commenting.

As soon as Claire left the room, Andie returned to finish speaking with the brunette. Fang was not prepared to feel so vulnerable, she hadn’t felt this exposed since childhood. And it went without saying that the immobile woman wondered if she could get through this housing discussion without losing it. The only thing that kept her feeling like she had some solid footing was the good doctor’s word for another pizza night, outside of the hospital. 

As awkward as Fang felt about the situation, she powered through it, surprised by how easy it was with Andie’s behavior towards her. But there was a daunting mountain before her, and the brunette knew there was no way she could hold off on certain responsibilities. There had been no communication with Jesse, but Fang wasn’t entirely surprised. They had kept their income separate, only combining their funds for items that they purchased as a couple. There was a sting to the thought, but also a great relief in knowing that she wouldn’t have to have any unnecessary conversations with the man.

As much as she was loathing the idea, she could at least start small and contact those that had been expecting her for events, whether through product promotion or charity work. She’d made a pretty hefty sum of cash sponsoring the products of several companies. Fang had been meticulous about reading the fine print, they could not take back their money if she’d been hospitalized for an unseen accident. Thank the Great Spirit, she couldn’t imagine having to return that money she’d placed in savings and bonds.

The day had been full of headaches, not from her injuries, but from the necessary phone calls she had to make. Needless to say, the car she’d been driving was totaled and with no one to file her claim the car had been sitting at the impound during the accident investigation. Not only did the brunette have to make calls to the police department, get accident report numbers and information to give to her insurance company, she had to give a statement. How had they not been in when she’d first opened her eyes was a miracle. Either way, Fang had spent nearly the entire day on and off the phone, she was exhausted by the time she hung up with the last call.

“Would you like some aspirin?” Serah asked from the doorway.

Fang looked up and gave Claire’s sister a tired smile. 

“Hey, Serah! What are you doing on this floor?” Fang croaked.

Obviously she’d been doing a lot of talking today, as Serah blanched at the rough sound. 

“Hold that thought…” 

Serah stepped out of the room and returned with ice cold water. She could tell the brunette was grateful by the look of pleasure on her face as she swallowed the cool liquid. The nurse couldn’t help but laugh a little. 

“Thank you.”

“I’m on a break, I thought I would come down and see how you were doing,” Serah replied.

“ I didn’t realize how much business needed to be taken care of,” Fang replied.

Concern passed through Serah’s mind, as she kept a jovial smile on her face. The nurse had seen this kind of thing too many times, she was just grateful that Fang seemed to have a handle on things.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, it’s all taken care of for now. I’ll handle the rest when I’m situated in the new place.”

“Alright,” Serah replied.

“Are you excited at least, you get out of the hospital tomorrow.”

“Yeah, looking forward to getting back on my feet.”

The two exchanged small talk for as long as Serah could before duties called her away. By the time the two Farron siblings were off work, Fang had been pleasantly surprised by another visit. The brunette was grateful too, she was sure that would be the last she would see of either sister until Claire picked her up for the pizza night. And there were several days between tomorrow and the weekend where she would be left in the care of new people.

  
  


******

  
  


Moving day, as Fang had come to think of it came and went without any troubles. The brunette had to choose a furnished room, as she was unable to pull anything from storage. She was at least grateful that she and Jesse had kept their own belongings and then purchased things together, at least she had something out of the ordeal to lean back on. It wasn’t that she wanted to dwell on this, but there were loose ends that needed to be tied up. 

But her mind kept asking her what really needed to be tied up, they had both kept their separate accounts and a joint account. It was almost as if the two were expecting not to last forever with the amount of personal accounts they kept separate from the relationship. But hadn’t that been Fang’s idea to begin with, and her cautious ways towards letting others in? Of course, mired in unresolved emotional issues had left her stunted and unless pointed out to her, the brunette would never have acknowledged her own desire to keep others at arm’s length. 

During the few days before the big pizza night, Fang was basically still trapped in a room, but at least she had the wheelchair to allow for some mobility. Her first physical therapy session wasn’t scheduled until next week and that alloted her more time alone with her own thoughts and nowhere to go. It was the hospital all over again, nurses on duty, limitations as to what you could do or where you could go. There were only so many times you could drown your day with movies, television, reading or just plain sleep. 

At night, the dreams came and her protective light that had always been there seemed a distant memory. Fang’s safety net had abandoned her and left her to deal with the aftermath of emotions never dealt with. The only saving grace in the brunette’s mind, was the fact that she didn’t have to worry about monitors alerting them if she had another nightmare. The inconsistent and restless sleep was evident in her eyes, something she kept denying to the charge nurse watching over their floor. Her biggest lie, at least to herself as well as the nurses was that she was tired of being laid up and needed to get out.

The highlight of her week was a call from Claire, who had apologized for not contacting her sooner. In the end, Fang hadn’t cared, she knew that the good doctor had a life outside of the hospital. It was enough for the brunette that she had even called at all, and it had helped to keep the demons at bay for the day. It hadn’t occurred to Fang consciously, that whenever Dr. Farron called, or spent any time with her, that her mood was always brighter. 

When the brunette settled down for the night, she was in a positive mood. She just had to get through tomorrow and then the following day she would be out of here for a little while. Fang would be able to do something besides sit here in a room with limited options of going anywhere. Truth be told, she could leave anytime she wanted, but where would she go? And it wasn’t like she hadn’t been looking at all kinds of options. 

  
  


********

  
  


Fang murmured in her sleep, after several days of inconsistent rest and nightmare’s her body seemed to be giving her a reprieve. She rolled over onto her side and wrapped her arm around the body in front of her, pulling them flush up against her. Her hand reached out automatically and locked fingers with the other hand. The brunette felt content, safe, protected and immensely happy. And in her half conscious state, she knew she would protect the one with her, with her very life. 

The brunette smiled when she felt their joined hands squeezed and the body in front of her tried to move as close to Fang as they could get. Wrapping her arm tighter around this ray of sunshine in her life, she uttered a soft good morning. There was a quiet groan of denial from her companion as the runner chuckled. 

“Go back to bed, it’s too early,” a familiar voice replied.

Without opening her eyes, Fang kissed the forehead of her sleepy partner and tucked back in to sleep. They could both use it, it had been a busy week. As the brunette drifted off to this thought, the smile remained on her face. Should anyone be allowed to be this happy, it almost seemed criminal. 

How much more time had past, was beyond the brunette’s comprehension. It wasn’t like she had made an effort to see what time it was when she had been semiconscious earlier. But the deep sleep she’d been in was being ever so slowly disturbed by the feeling of tiny kisses along her fingers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Fang registered a brief chill, followed by a shift in the bed. After a few moments, she felt fingers run through her hair and a thumb caress the side of her face. Then the brief but not so subtle kisses began again, from her hairline, along her cheek until finally her lips were completely captured.

Fang moaned into the soft caress. It was so loving, and compassionate, with an underlying spark of desire. Heavy sleep laden green eyes opened to peer at the beautiful blue sky shining within those staring back at her. With swift and silent movements the brunette’s arms were wrapped around her companion as she pinned her to the bed. An exchange of laughter greeted the two as Fang returned the kisses.

“Now, that’s what I call a good morning wake up. Do you do house calls often Dr. Farron?”

Claire chuckled, kissing the brunette back.

“Only for you.”

“Music to my ears, my eyes and every other part of me.”

And Fang intended to show Claire just how much, giving her partner a sly smile at the reactions she received for her efforts. 

“I love you Claire, and I’m going to show you just how much.”

  
  


********

  
  


Fang woke with a start. This was a first for her, she’d never dreamt of a woman before. The brunette had never really even dreamt of men either, this was something she’d never experienced and it had her head spinning. But in truth, the runner had never concentrated on sex, not after the start in life that she’d received. Sex was a means to an end and it never really brought the true satisfaction of what constant love would bring. Unconditional love, she’d heard about it, but she’d never experienced it. Maybe somewhere deep within her, she desired someone to love her without wanting anything from her.

Fang’s entire body was electrified from the dream, she could even feel it in her toes. Honestly, her legs protested at the feeling, but the rest of her was amped with a need to discharge the excess build up of electricity coursing through her. It was a moment of conflicting feelings as her head and body contradicted each other. Did she have some kind of Nightingale syndrome with Dr. Farron? The brunette lay back against her pillow, staring at the ceiling of her room. There had to be a logical explanation for this. Could it simply be that she felt comfortable around the doctor?

Whatever the case was, the day before her pizza date with Dr. Farron and her sister had the brunette’s mind running. Could she look the good doctor in the eyes, knowing she’d seen her naked in her dreams and completely at Fang’s mercy as she made love to her? Why was this happening now, when she had found a friend in Claire. If nothing else, she supposed the dream had made her realize just how natural it was for her to be open and honest with Dr. Farron. 

“Don’t screw up this friendship, Fang,” the brunette muttered to herself.

  
  


*******

  
  


Claire checked her shopping list to make sure she had everything on it they needed for the house. The two sisters decided they would make a homemade pizza instead of ordering out, that way it would be easier to customize. Serah had opted to stay and clean, not that between the two neat freaks that there was much to do, except maybe laundry. With keys in hand, Claire headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies. The two siblings had agreed to spend as much time with Fang as they could, just until she knew what she wanted to do.

Shopping took a little longer than Claire had anticipated. She and Serah were still getting used to all the shops and locations around the hospital. Despite working there, it had always been a trip to and from work to home with little else. Any shopping they’d done in the past, had been done closer to home so that they wouldn’t have to deal with the traffic. But Claire Farron was nothing if not strategic, always having a backup plan in case plan A didn’t work out. Her sister often teased her that she’d missed her calling as a military strategist. The remark of course had been met with the “Infamous bird”.

The plan was to pick up Fang a little earlier, to give her some time away from the “hospital” setting. Despite the fact the brunette was not in the hospital, did not change the fact she still had nurses and was confined to a room. It wasn’t as if Claire was excited about the topic of tonight's conversation, but if Fang asked, she would tell her, just as she had said she would. And since the doctor had showered and made herself ready ahead of schedule, she would go straight over and pick up their dinner guest, while Serah unloaded the groceries and supplies. 

As soon as Claire hit the driveway, she met Serah, who was shooing her down the road to get Fang. The older Farron daughter shook her head and laughed at her younger sister, she couldn’t ask for a better sibling in her opinion. It didn’t take Claire long before she was knocking on the brunette’s door.

“Come in.”

Claire poked her head through the door and gave Fang a smile. The brunette was momentarily taken off guard by the flash of her dream and the unexpected visitor.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you for a few more hours.”

“Serah and I thought you might enjoy an extended break from your room.”

Recovering the momentary shock, Fang hoped she hadn’t blushed and thanked her darker skin tone as she wheeled her chair closer to Claire.

“Sign me up doc, I’m all about getting out of here for awhile.”

“Shall I push, or do you want to do this on your own?”

“I could use the workout, they only let you roam so far in here, are you sure this isn’t a prison, Claire?”

Laughing, Claire opened up the door wider as she let Fang wheel herself out.

“I suppose that depends on what you call a prison.”

Fang hummed in thought and turned to look at the doctor, unaware that she’d been really studying her from the moment that Claire had entered her room

“So, I’m curious, Claire, what short distance running did you do. I hadn’t asked the last time we talked about the subject.”

“I ran the 100, 200 and 400 meter sprints. I also participated in the 4X100m and 4X400m relays.”

“Pretty quick then?”

Claire never used to blush about her accomplishments in track and field, but she wasn’t really the same person that she was then. Fang marveled at the show of humility and chuckled at the tinge of pink in the doctor’s cheeks.

“I still hold the women’s records for all the individual relays. It earned me the nickname Lightning in highschool. I was being scouted by some of the top colleges to come run in their programs, and started my first year of college out with some solid wins, but the accident happened shortly after that and well, as you know that dream became history.”

“Lightning huh?”

Fang couldn’t deny the irony of how she felt that morning from her dream and Claire’s admission. The brunette felt that maybe she should pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t still dreaming. But when Dr. Farron answered her questions about her times, the distance runner gave an approving nod.

“Yeah, I would say that Lightning fits you,” Fang chuckled. 

“Now, just imagine two bionic legs on you and we’d have to reinvent a whole new name for you.” 

The brunette teased Claire all the way up to the door, but the doctor took it all in stride. She remembered what a pain in the ass she’d been to Serah, it only seemed fair that God let her get her share of karma returned. All though, the doctor was planning on making sure that Fang received her fair share as well. Getting Fang into the house had taken a moment, as the wheelchair bound woman navigated the door frame. Once inside, she followed Lightning, as she had gone to calling her, to the kitchen.

“Ever made a homemade pizza, Fang,” Serah inquired.

“No, for the sake of my waistline, that would be why.”

Serah laughed and invited the brunette over and was given a paring knife and green peppers and olives to cut up. Claire began preparing the meats while her sister finished up the sauce. In less than 20 minutes the women were seated around the dinning table enjoying a drink while the pizza cooked. Within another 40 and they were cutting up slices to cool on their plates as they refilled their drinks. 

As they sat at the table, Fang had become quiet again, letting the two sisters carry the conversation at the table. It was apparent to the brunette that there seemed to be no secrets between the two siblings, something that she had a fond memory of herself. But Claire had invited her over here to allow her to talk about similar life experiences so that she had someone else to talk too. It wouldn’t be right to just come in here and eat their food and take up their time so she could escape embarrassment. Gathering up the nerve, the brunette cleared her throat.

“So, ah...Claire, you said you’d been through some...relationship changes?”

Fang had no other way to put it, at least not to her. She wasn’t one to talk about her private life and here someone had willingly given her permission to ask questions. To delve into something personal and likely emotional for them, how could this not feel awkward? When she’d asked the question, Claire’s focus turned upon her guest. She’d wondered when Fang would feel comfortable enough to bring it up, but was not willing to push the brunette on the issue. Serah of course laughed at Fang’s words.

“Relationship change is putting it nicely,” Serah replied.

The younger sibling stood up from the table and took the dishes and went to the kitchen to give the two a little more privacy. It wasn’t for Claire, as much as for Fang, she knew her sister’s story.

“Well, the relationship was at an end before the accident, but it was that relationship that my parents and I were arguing about when the car was hit.”

“All in the same day?!” Fang asked incredulously.

“No, thankfully, but it happened a few days prior to the accident.”

“I’m sorry, was it a boyfriend, fiance?”

Claire’s preferences had never been an issue, she had no problem with telling someone if they asked. The doctor did not feel an obligation to tell anyone she was attracted to women, that was her business and no one else's. The doctor had never had a coming out, she was well aware of who she was and what she wanted and her parents had never had an issue with it. It was her life, and as long as she was educated about the truths of life, and happy, that’s all her parents cared about. Dr. Farron chuckled though as she answered the question.

“No, my girlfriend and I had a disagreement about where we wanted life to go. In the few years we’d been together, you would have thought we’d discussed all the important things a couple should talk about, but apparently not.”

Fang nearly choked on the water she had picked up to drink. It had been awful timing all around, as she had not been expecting Claire to use the word girlfriend. The comment only brought the brunette’s dream back to the forefront of her mind. Concerned for the sudden choking, the doctor was up out of her seat and instructing Fang so that she would not hyperventilate.

“Sorry….wrong...pipe…”

After a moment, Fang could still feel the heat in her cheeks. Could she have been anymore obvious?

“I’m sorry, that had to have been tough.”

“It was in the sense that we’d been together for a couple of years. It was time that we both wasted for not being honest with each other.”

“Did this have something to do with you being a runner?”

“Partially, Jen wanted a family, I wanted to run. And, it didn’t help that we did not see eye to eye on how that family dynamic should be made and what was involved. Jen wanted a baby boy and she wanted to conceive and I had issues with raising a male and her wanting to have a child naturally.”

“Why would raising a boy be an issue or her giving birth?”

“Because Fang, working in the medical field, taking all of these classes on the human body and psyche, my views aren’t popular, even if backed by scientific proof. Males need the influence of other men and it’s tough enough on single mothers let alone for someone to purposely choose to raise a male without a man’s influence. There’s a lot that goes into the conception of a child no one considers. Who wants to find out that they were a test tube baby, or that their father donated their sperm that sat in a frozen state until someone decided they wanted a child. There are enough unloved children without parents to consider before going and conceiving one of your own.”

Fang scratched her head.

“You are a lesbian, right?”

Claire laughed.

“By societal terms yes, but I don’t call myself a lesbian. I’m more sapphic, a lover of women, if that makes sense?”

“So, bi then?”

“Fang, did you not have biology and psychology in college? Women don’t have drives, we are truly gender fluid, because it all comes from within our minds. I’m not sure why I’m attracted to females, maybe it’s something I saw and admired long ago as a child. But there is just something more to me about having a companion and equal as a female.”

“I’ve just never…” Fang said as she paused in thought.

“How do you not get hate mail or stoned to death?”

“Because I don’t go talking about myself to strangers and I don’t go and talk about intimate issues in my life to just anyone,” Claire explained.

“So, would you ever consider being with a man?”

“If I wanted to have a child, yes.”

All Fang could find herself doing was nodding her head. She had her own private thoughts about parenting and apparently, she needed to revisit this. But her mind reminded her that the possibility of having a child was now going to take an act of god. The brunette looked over at Claire.

“I’m the last one that would ever want to judge anyone about family, Claire. Trust me, I have my own opinions about parenting.”

“I’m sorry Fang, this conversation was meant to let you know that I understand having someone close to you, just leave. I didn’t mean to make this a conversation solely about my past.”

“No, don’t. I asked you dammit, and you answered.”

“Knowing that Jesse had been at the hospital and disappeared, it’s not like this is a secret now.”

“No one should be discussing it outside of work with anyone that was not directly involved, Fang. I know how gossip goes, but the nurses and the hospital staff are pretty professional.”

The brunette took a breath, feeling a little shaken, but still comfortable around Claire that she was remarkably stable at the moment. Dr. Farron had managed to loosen Fang’s iron grip on her life for a bit to discuss a bit of the situation she was in. As they talked, the doorbell rang and Serah hollered from another room. 

“I got it!”

The two older women could hear some muffled chatter at the door, but Fang’s back was to the hallway that led to the front door and she couldn’t see anything. The brunette hoped she wasn’t suddenly intruding on the Farron sisters day, they had been here talking for sometime now and there really hadn’t been a set time for her visit.

To Fang’s delight however, Claire seemed to ignore the door until two sets of footsteps could be heard on the wood floor. The brunette watched Dr. Farron’s face lit up in a smile and it urged the woman to turn toward the sounds.

“Hi, Claire. Hope you don’t mind, I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I’d stop by to see if you were all interested in going out for some ice cream.”

Fang visibly shivered, she  _ knew  _ that voice!

“Fang, I’d like you to meet…”

“ ** _VANILLE_**?!”

“ **FANG**!”

Fang couldn’t turn the wheelchair quick enough as her eyes landed on the redhead. Both Farron sisters exchanged a look and in that instant, Vanille was on her knees in front of her old adopted sister, hugging her and crying into her neck.This was turning out to be one hell of a day, Fang thought as she hugged her sister and cried along with her.

  
  
  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Fang and Claire get to know each other more, interesting events start to present themselves. As much as the older sisters want to deny that something is going on, they can't fool their younger sisters. Meanwhile, Fang and Vanille begin to reconnect after missing so much of each other's life.

Serah got the connection right away, her sister, however, had not been privy to the conversation she’d had with Vanille. Outside of telling Claire how much she’d liked the redhead and giving her strong recommendation for her to work at the clinic, she’d never discussed the more private conversations with her older sibling. While the two women were reacquainting themselves, Serah slipped over to her sister and whispered in her ear. Having a better idea now of what was going on, the doctor smiled, it was the best news for Fang in her current situation.

Vanille’s tears finally started to subside as Fang held her close. It had been so long, she never thought in her wildest dreams that she’d see the brunette again. Their separation had ended so badly, with others making decisions for them and no way around the system. Taking a deep breath, the redhead pulled back from her old adopted sister, just to burst out in tears again to see her in the wheelchair and the scar on her head, where her hair had been shaved down.

“Oh, Fang, what happened?” 

Vanille reached up to gingerly touch the area where her hair was gone. Fang took a deep breath, praying this wasn’t just some sort of sick dream.

“A semi and my car decided to tango without my permission, you know, a simple case of I weaved when I should have dodged.”

The redhead looked horrified and would have started sobbing again if Fang hadn’t grasped her by the shoulder.

“I’m alive, Van, and on the way to recovery. We can talk all about it later, I don’t want to be rude to our guests.”

Vanille pulled back from Fang, realizing she’d gotten lost in the moment. If the young woman hadn’t been so caught up in the reunion, she’d have been embarrassed.

“It’s alright, Vanille,” Serah assured her.

“Ice cream sounds like a wonderful idea,” Claire added.

“But how about we get some and bring it back here?”

Fang was honestly having a great time with Claire, and now that she had this sudden sweet surprise of Vanille, she was all for staying longer. The brunette hadn’t felt this good in a very long time, and with the redhead back in front of her, she would never let her go again.

“Frozen yogurt for me,” Fang added to the conversation.

“Since when did you start eating yogurt?” Vanille blanched.

“Since I’ve had to watch this gorgeous figure of mine for running,” the brunette said as she batted her eyes at Vanille. 

Vanille was the only one who didn’t laugh, she’d given Fang a roll of her eyes instead. But for Claire, this was a side of the woman she’d never seen. If she was being completely honest with herself, the doctor had been curious. Surely there was a lot more to the brunette than just the sarcasm, and now as she smiled with laughter, she saw the vibrant woman that Fang was. Was the brunette aware of this flirty optimistic side of herself? The doctor could feel the draw to this enigmatic runner and why people would be drawn to her.

“Don’t let her fool you, she loves ice cream, and I happen to know her favorite flavor.”

“Oh, no you don’t missy!” Fang exclaimed. 

“Come on Serah, let’s let her sweat it out while we go get ice cream for everyone.”

Serah smiled and laughed at the situation, while Fang tried to hold onto Vanille with a death grip. She easily escaped the wheelchair-bound woman with a giggle as she skipped toward the door. Claire for her part was still too entranced by this happier side of the brunette. In truth, she was stunning, breathtaking to watch as the joy poured out of her. The two younger women were out the door before Claire even realized she was alone in the house with Fang.

“So, about not liking sweets that well…” The doctor inquired.

For her part, Fang felt a little warm from the red she was sure colored her already dark cheeks. Clearing her throat, she looked at Claire who was staring at her in a way that made her squirm just a little more in her chair. 

“Well, I didn’t say I never ate sweets, I just said I didn’t like them all that well.”

“So, do I have to wait for Vanille to return, or are you going to tell me?”

The smirk on Fang’s face warmed Claire for a reason she did not acknowledge, but she did respond with a smile and a shake of her head at the brunette.

“There are actually three different flavors, strawberry swirl, chocolate chip, and plain old vanilla bean.”

“What about you, Claire?”

“Rocky Road, anything with caramel and...just about anything sweet,” Claire laughed.

Dr. Farron could not help the returned smile, she was so captured by the joy and happiness in Fang that it was literally like a drug. But the good doctor couldn’t help the curiosity, so barely a moment passed before she was asking the question burning in her mind.

“So, how do you know Vanille?”

It was like Fang’s inner guard had been relieved during the interim of this happiness that had pervaded her. Normally, she would not have been forthcoming or at the very least found a way to evade answering the question. 

“Australia, like it wasn't obvious from our accents. We found each other during a particularly difficult time in our lives and we kind of adopted each other.”

Serah hadn’t gone into detail, other than she had whispered that they had been like sister’s years ago and had lost contact through no fault of their own. Knowing how private the brunette was with her personal affairs, Claire understood that it just wasn’t prudent to go blabbing your mouth about your personal life, she certainly wasn’t one to do it herself. So, whatever information Fang shared with her, the doctor was more than pleased to be trustworthy enough for her to do so.

“Well, I’m glad you two found each other again.”

Fang smiled and it startled Claire to suddenly realize she felt compelled to kiss the woman. Was it just the joy that was energizing the house at the moment? Logically, they hadn’t really known each other that long, a month now maybe and how much of that was short little visits during the brunette’s convalescence in the hospital? And could you really say that they  _ knew  _ each other as much as knew  _ about  _ each other? 

There was one thing that Claire couldn’t deny, she had found Fang physically attractive from seeing her photo in the magazine. But the doctor knew that looks had nothing to do with what kind of person you were, beauty, as they say, was truly only skin deep. And Dr. Farron had met some downright beautiful women who were the ugliest types of human beings on the inside. Yes, physical features did play a part in one's attraction to a person, but if that’s what you were all about, prepare to be disappointed in the kind of being that might be lurking behind the beauty. 

“So am I,” Fang agreed.

“I didn’t ever think I’d see her again, funny how the world works,” the brunette added.

Still mildly flustered by her response to Fang, Claire offered to refill their drinks while waiting on the two younger siblings to return. The two older sisters settled in the living room, just talking about the brunette’s up and coming physical therapy and her desire to regain her independence. Dr. Farron found it a little disappointing that they had gone back to their normal line of conversation, but at least her company had retained that happiness that kept her smiling. It was refreshing.

By the time Serah and Vanille returned, they all quickly settled with their bowl of ice cream and laughed and talked until late. Claire had intended on having the redhead take Fang home so that they could have more time together, but the young psychologist had to be to work at the clinic tomorrow and promised her older sibling she’d be by after work. After the brunette’s sister left, Claire and Fang made the leisurely stroll back to the nursing facility. The two women departed with promises to stay in contact and have more dinners over at the Farron house. 

*******

But the next few weeks found Claire so busy, she’d hardly had time to visit Fang, let alone spend lengthy conversations on the phone. As it turned out, Vanille had been the one to take the brunette to her first two therapy sessions. Unaware of her change in demeanor, Dr. Farron picked at her late dinner as she sat at the table with her sister. Serah looked at her sister and laughed.

“Remind me to make you schedule some time with Fang so that you’re not moody all week.”

Claire scoffed,” Very funny. Fang has nothing to do with my mood. It’s just been a busy week and I’m ready for a break.”

“You know I’m just teasing. I’m glad that Vanille has been there though, Fang seems to have really brightened up with her here.”

At the mention of Vanille, Serah saw Claire’s jaw momentarily clench and it caused the younger sister to pause. Her older sister could not hide her telltale signs of irritation, consciously or not and when her sibling’s jaw tightened for that fraction of a second, Serah knew there was something going on that even Claire was not aware of.

“Okay, out with it! I just saw you clench your jaw when I mentioned Vanille! There is something going on with you and Fang, admit it!”

Claire’s fork stilled in her hand as her eyes locked with her sister. 

“Seriously Serah? I barely know Fang, why would I be irritated at Vanille with some irrational and juvenile type of jealousy?”

“Because you like her! Admit it, Claire Farron, I bet you’ve even gone as far as wanting to kiss her!”

_ That _ was the nail in the coffin. Serah knew she was right by the bright red color that blossomed on her sister’s cheeks. If it didn’t sound so egotistical, the younger sister would pat herself on the back for knowing her sibling so well. Serah arched an eyebrow as the silence reigned supreme amongst them. It was only when Claire gave a long-suffering sigh that she knew she had her.

“I’m not going to say that I never found Fang attractive. When I saw her in that magazine I thought she was beautiful  _ and _ ..” Claire emphasized to cut her sister off.

“I was compelled to want to kiss her the other day. Fang’s got this magnetic pull when she’s like that. I have a feeling that she was more herself in that moment than any other. But there are a few major reasons why I wouldn’t pursue something with Fang. First of all, she just got out of an engagement in one of the most shitty ways you can imagine, and for the more obvious reason, she is not attracted to women. You should have seen the look on her face when I mentioned my ex, she about choked on her drink.”

Claire’s argument was valid. Serah knew her sister wasn’t the type to pursue someone who was freshly out of a relationship, especially one that ended so poorly. As far as the argument goes about Fang not being attracted to women, Claire could say what she wanted too, but Serah was well aware of the fact that women are fluid. She’d taken the same classes as her sister and she could easily see two women falling in love under the right circumstances. Standing up to clear the table, she squeezed her sister’s shoulder.

“Well, if Fang ever changes her mind, I’ll be rooting for you both.”

Serah laughed as her sister went to swat at her. As innocent as that comment was, she knew that her little sister would always have her back and be interested in nothing less than her happiness. How could she be mad at her for that?

“Don’t get your hopes up too high, Serah. Fluid or not, not all women are interested in having another woman as a partner. Besides, speaking as women, you know how we can be.”

Serah laughed and then headed over to the sink. The truth was, she knew Claire was level headed and did not do anything without forethought anymore. She’d learned a lot of difficult lessons from her own accident, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have feelings for Fang that developed over their many interactions. The younger sister was aware that her older sibling would play it safe when it came to her heart, so Serah didn’t give it much more thought. 

  
  


*******

  
  


Fang closed her eyes and soaked up the rays of sun warming her naturally tanned skin. She was the happiest that she’d ever been and the brunette took the moment to soak up everything around her. She’d lost that sense of just living and now that it was back, she planned to spend every second doing just that. She reveled in the contrasting feel of the packed sand under her feet that felt like stone to the grainy feel of the sand between her toes. The wind gently rustled her hair and the smell of the ocean permeated every sense of her being. She was happy and content.

The brunette would have stayed that way for a while longer if it hadn’t been for the squeeze of fingers that were entwined with her own. Fang slowly opened her eyes to the crystal blue gaze looking back at her. There was a smile on Claire’s face that was contagious and it caught like wildfire as she returned it. 

“Do you need a moment?”

Fang looked further down the beach at the two figures ahead of them. Serah and Vanille chatted happily away as they strolled along the shore, both wearing bikinis and wrapped in sarongs. It was comical in a touching way, how quickly those two seemed more like sisters themselves than friends. The brunette’s gaze landed back on Claire.

“No.”

She began to tug the doctor forward before she was pulled back by their joined hands, and pulled into a kiss. Further down, she could hear the whistling and cheering coming from their respective sisters, it was enough to make her smile into the kiss. 

  
  


*******

  
  


Fang woke with a start, it was the 2nd such dream in the last few days and sleep had evaded her for a whole new reason. Vanille was coming to pick her up for her therapy and as happy as she was, the brunette was a little disturbed. On one hand, she was ecstatic about finding the redhead again after so long, and on the other hand, she had to scratch her head at the dreams about Dr. Farron. 

Fang lay back in her bed, she was out of the hospital, but still in some sort of hospice care until she could get through her therapy. If the brunette had anything to say about it, she would make sure she was out and independent again as soon as she could be. Maybe she and Vanille could rent an apartment while she struck out to find a job again and to look at getting back into shape for running.

Running, that was the next big issue she had to deal with. She was being pushed to come forward about the accident for many reasons and Fang was reluctant. It wasn’t like she hadn’t given interviews before, or that her face had graced the cover of a magazine promoting one of her many sponsors. Ever since the initial phone calls to the appropriate individuals, she had almost daily conversations with them and she was being pushed to come public. She’d nearly hung up on her agent when he suggested doing a documentary of her recovery. 

Fang brought her hands up in frustration to run through her hair, only to be stopped short by the fuzzy feeling of the short hairs growing back on her scalp. She ran her fingers over the scar and felt the bumps of where the sutures once were. Vanille used to braid that side of her hair and once she taught Fang how to do it, the brunette had been doing it ever since. She was struck with the odd thought of shaving the other side so that her hair would at least look symmetrical. 

Perhaps a mohawk, but the idea actually made her chuckle out loud as she motivated herself to get up and move to her chair. Fang loathed that thing, and she had a new appreciation for anyone that was permanently attached to one. But how could the brunette see anything other than the negative when she was accustomed to running, to being on her feet and mobile. It wasn’t the first time that she suddenly contemplated what it would be like if she’d been stuck to one for life. 

It only took one look at the scars that would be on her legs from surgery and the residual damage from the accident to make her cringe. She had to have someone help her bathe and in some cases, she struggled with getting dressed, the whole experience was very humbling despite how she felt otherwise. But Fang was nothing if not stubborn and motivated to win her independence, so she did as much as she could without the aid of others.

Like clockwork, Vanille had found where she was staying and was at her door well before they had to leave. The two had been talking every day since the night of their reunion and if the two had anything to say about it, that would never change.

“Van, you could have just met me there. They have a shuttle service for this kind of stuff.”

“And miss the opportunity to spend as much time with you as possible! Do I even need to explain?”

Fang stuck out her tongue before giving her little sister a huge hug before being helped into the vehicle by the nursing staff. Vanille watched her sister closely, every little nuance as she was loaded into the car.

“Well, at least one good thing came out of this chair, now you and I are finally about the same height,” Fang teased.

Vanille harrumphed and poked out her lip.

“Not funny.”

As Vanille started out toward her sister’s place of appointment, she continued to watch Fang as they talked. The redhead had keenly noticed the bags under her sister’s eyes and it wasn’t the first time during the week either.

“So, how have you been sleeping?”

Fang’s cheeks felt like they’d been set to a flame and Vanille nearly choked on laughter because, despite the tan, she’d never been able to hide her embarrassment from the redhead.

“Fang Yun! What is that about?!”

The brunette sputtered and coughed while trying to figure out how she was going to say this without it being worse than it felt in her head. 

“I’ve been having dreams about Claire,” she mumbled.

“What?!”

“I’ve been having dreams about Dr. Farron, and it’s not what you think! I’m sure it’s just because she’s been so kind during the whole time I’ve been in the hospital,” Fang hurriedly replied.

Vanille cast her sister a side glance, this required further investigation.

“I know that look, Vanille, and _ no  _ we aren’t discussing this so that you can dissect it and my brain!”

Vanille giggled, she’d get it out of Fang, just like she always did, regardless of what the brunette protested. Besides, she was sure that there was a lot more to this than her older sister realized. Now that she was back in her life, the redhead would make sure that she stayed on Fang just like she had when they were kids. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang begins her physical therapy and it is turning out to be more challenging than she thought. With Vanille back in her life, the two are catching up on lost time. But as the brunette's little sister spends more time with her, Fang's obvious attraction toward Claire becomes more apparent each passing day. Will the redhead finally break through that thick head of her older sister's and convince her to deal with her past? Fang and Dr. Farron finally get to spend some more time together, and it turns out to be more than either expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the slowness of posts recently. Things have been hectic since taking on more responsibility at work and gone are the days of writing posts in Word while I'm there. LOL! Yes, it's a guilty confession! I am hoping to get my feet more solid again in the new job so that I can come home and concentrate on all these ideas and posts on my mind. Anyway, I hope everyone is safe and doing well. Enjoy! And as always, thank you for reading and commenting.

Sweat broke out across Fang’s forehead and the brunette bit back a curse. The woman had no idea that you could perspire from pain alone, and if she were honest, the distance runner felt as if she’d been working out the hardest she had in her entire life. Vanille had even commented on the fact she’d never heard her curse so much, not something she was proud of. The killing part of this whole ordeal was that this was considered minor therapy while she recovered from surgery. As her therapist put it, it was to keep her limber for the real deal when it was safe to put her to work on full recovery.

Fang nearly choked on her laughter. If this was the minor stuff, how the hell was she going to survive the more intense workout she was facing? The brunette had already been close to tears a few times in the last few weeks. If it wasn’t for the fact she had the most awesome physical therapist, Vanille, and her brief phone calls with Claire, Fang was sure she would have lost it by now. Even with the redhead back in her life, it was difficult to always maintain that positive disposition. On more than one occasion, the wheel bound woman found herself in a state of sadness. 

Vanille for her part had made an extra effort to be there for her adopted sister. The redhead had even gone as far as urging her to go to counseling, but Fang was nothing if not bullheaded. The brunette insisted that she would be fine and it was merely a slump she was going through because of the accident. Her younger sister, however, was not so daft as to believe the excuses. Despite the years that had separated them, the two had bonded and become so close in those early adolescent years that they could not deny the instantaneous reconnection. 

Spent was not the correct term for how Fang felt as she was loaded back into Vanille’s vehicle. In all honesty, the brunette felt as if she could sleep for a week just to recover from the day. And speaking of that unconscious state, dreams had filled those moments most often than not. Dreams that were not the most pleasant, the kind that had her waking up in a cold sweat with tears in her eyes. Fang felt strung out, at her wits end more times than not lately and not even Vanille’s presence was keeping those demons at bay.

“So, where do you want to eat lunch today?” Vanille questioned.

“Somewhere that’s not going to make my ass any bigger. I swear Van, you’re trying to fatten me up with all these places you take me.”

“Would you rather eat the food at the hospice?”

Fang grumbled.

“Fine, point taken. But nothing really greasy, something a little more wholesome.”

“Hmmm…. okay, I think there’s a farm just outside of town, I can put you out to pasture with the cows. How does that sound, all the grass you can eat?”

“Hardy har har...very funny miss smarty pants,” Fang replied as she stuck her tongue out playfully with a mock glare.

Vanille giggled when she saw that she’d finally broken through that solemn demeanor. It was beginning to worry the redhead that Fang would not see that she needed to talk to someone. She would do it herself, but the younger sister was already compromised professionally for knowing the brunette and being so close to her. No, Fang needed to speak to a neutral party, someone that would give the facts straight to her without there being that familial tie. 

After compromising on a place to eat, the two feasted on their lunch at the park and talked about the day. Vanille could not hide her smile as the conversation turned to a certain doctor with rose-colored hair. Fang had once again become quite animated speaking about the woman as the brunette revealed that the two would finally be able to hang out again. It was obvious to the younger woman that her adopted sister was smitten with the woman, whether she was aware of it or not. 

“So, anymore dreams about our beloved doctor?” Vanille teased.

Fang’s eyes squinted in scrutiny. 

“I never should have told you.” The brunette grumbled.

Vanille, for her part, broke out into laughter as she hugged her sister’s neck.

“Come on Fang, admit it, you like, like her.”

“I... I still think it’s because of her being so kind,” Fang replied with uncertainty. 

“Sure, that’s why you just stuttered, because you’re thinking about the fact that you just might actually be attracted to her.”

Fang sighed. Vanille was right if her dreams weren’t full of nightmares from her past, they were filled with Claire and she could honestly say she preferred those dreams to the former. 

“Van, I have no idea about having a relationship with another woman.”

“Sure you do, you have one with women every day. There’s me, and Serah, and April, your therapist. You deal with women every day, it’s just that you have feelings for Claire that are more romantic.”

“But I don’t know how to have a healthy romantic relationship,” Fang blurted out in frustration.

It was the first admission that her sister had ever made outwardly about her inner demons and Vanille took notice. Giving Fang her full attention, the redhead sat up straighter in her seat and leaned in toward her older sister.

“It’s good that you can admit that Fang. I don’t mean to sound condescending, but I’m proud of you. Not many people can admit that they aren’t good at something and they keep doing it, only to make a mess out of the situation.”

Vanille didn’t want to go into therapist mode, but if she could encourage Fang into working through her insecurities from her past, she was all for it.

“I can see why you would be attracted to her, and I’m not just talking about her personality or her looks, Fang. Claire is stable, she’s got a solid foothold on who she is. It’s easy to be drawn to someone that has their feet on solid ground.”

She squeezed Fang’s hand, she could see her fists tighten, and she knew just as she had when they were children that not many could say such things to the brunette without an argument or fight. Her older sister tried to play the situation down of course, but Vanille could see that the wheels were turning inside her mind. Fang was thinking about what she said, and it was a start. 

The conversation eventually turned towards other things of course. Vanille of all people understood that you can not force people to seek help, they have to want to heal and to change on their own. This was why she was compromised because the therapist in her understood that fact and let it go, but the part of her that was Fang’s sister did not want to let her escape, blowing off the need for professional help so easily. In the end, though, the redhead let it go.

It was late afternoon when Vanille finally dropped her off at her “new home”. For all intents and purposes, it wasn’t so bad a place to be in her condition. But the woman who had been running most of her life was anxious to get out of this chair and have total independence again. Fang had yet to connect the dots that her desperate need for autonomy was a weapon to keep people at bay. Don’t look too needy, don’t admit that you just might need someone stronger than you in certain areas of your life and heaven forbid that you placed yourself at someone else's mercy. 

It wasn’t that Fang was a dullard by any means intellectually, but she was certainly retarded towards relationships. How could she be otherwise, what example had she ever had to show her what a solid and stable relationship looked like. Vanille was the closest she could recall, outside of her grandparents who had died long ago. What the brunette needed were the tools to acquire such ties with others, including the romantic type. 

By the time she was situated to rest for the night, she decided to shoot a message off to Claire. She couldn’t explain why she was in such a mischievous mood, but her goal was to tease the sanity out of the good doctor. Picking up her phone next to the bed, Fang began to send her text.

**Fang:** Excuse me, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I have this friend that has a workaholic problem. I was hoping you could deliver this message to one Ms. Claire “Lightning” Farron and remind her to zap her butt over here on Friday for wine, salad, and chicken parmesan. 

**Fang:** I have it on good authority that the chicken parmesan is to die for. Oh, and I really want to hear some juicy stories on how she got her name, you know “Lightning”. I’m beginning to wonder why she has that name, I mean, she’s so slow in answering texts….

**Claire:** Please inform the rude person texting that I do not take my phone with me into the bathroom nor into the shower, so responses will be limited according to where I am. 

**Fang:** Clarification please, is that “Lightning” Farron, or “Grumpy Bear” Farron?

**Claire:** …

Fang laughed, she literally could feel the sigh coming from the other woman without her so much as being in the same room. The doctor was so easy to tease that it was virtually impossible not to want to give her a good ribbing. 

**Claire:** Since we’re on the topic of clarification, is this a date? Because this sounds more like a date than a girls' night out.

Fang’s face heated, she really hadn’t thought about that when she typed it out. On the other end of the conversation, Claire was chuckling knowing that she’d stopped the brunette short with her response. 

**Fang:** Touche! There’s that quickness that goes with the name “Lightning” but I was aiming more for running stories!

Claire noticed how Fang glossed over her question, she must have really gotten to the brunette if she wasn’t answering.

**Claire:** Okay, Friday at 7 on the condition that it’s a good California red and that I get to know why your name is Fang.

**Fang:** *does the wheelchair happy dance* Deal!

Claire laughed out so loud by Fang’s response that Serah poked her head in her sister’s room. The elder Farron waved her off with the promise to tell her later. The younger sister just rolled her eyes at whatever was going on and went back to her room

**Fang:** Good night “Grumpy Bear”!

Fang’s text was followed by a gif of the blue Care Bear in question and all Claire could do was smile and shake her head as she replied one last time.

**Claire:** Fang... go to bed!

**Claire:** Good night.

  
  


*******

Friday rolled around and Fang was happy, giddy actually, but she again thought nothing about it. The brunette wouldn’t deny that she was excited about seeing Claire, but in her mind’s eye, it was because the doctor was becoming a good friend. With the help of the charge nurse, her room was situated so that she and Claire could sit at a table to eat and enjoy their meal. If there was one thing the brunette was looking forward to, it would be a place where she didn’t need to make special arrangements for a visitor. You know, somewhere if you decided to drink just a little too much wine that you wouldn’t disturb anyone. 

When Claire arrived, Fang was smiling like the doctor had seen her smile the last time the brunette had been at their house. The food was already set out on their little “table” and two wine glasses were sitting by the chilled bucket of California red. All she could do was smile at the brunette, letting the electrified atmosphere seep into her work tired body.

“I was just kidding about the California red,” Claire remarked as she picked it up.

“Fang! This is a $100 bottle of wine, are you out of your mind!”

The brunette’s smile grew as she took the bottle away from the doctor. 

“Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015,” Fang said as she read the label and shrugged.

“I figured we could both use a decent wine for a change.”

Claire  _ really _ looked at the meal now, after seeing the wine that sat chilling on the table. It was a four-course meal for two with all the trimmings, meaning that the brunette had spent a pretty penny for their “girls night out”. There was Caesar Salad, Orecchiette & Broccoli Rabe, Chicken Parmesan, and for dessert Cannoli. The doctor was floored, and not for the first time wondered if Fang had really become attracted to her. Before, it had just been teasing, but this was something else altogether. 

“Fang, this whole dinner, you had to have spent close to $150’s or more. Do you treat all your friends this way? because this seems like a date.”

The brunette in question who had been smiling so much it had to have hurt her cheeks by now visibly faltered in her demeanor. It wasn’t quite the response she was expecting and truth be told, she hadn’t really taken the idea of what she’d been doing under serious consideration. 

“I wanted to thank you, for everything that you've done for me,” Fang replied hesitantly.

“Outside of Vanille, you and Serah have been more like friends to me than I’ve had in a very long time.”

Fang looked on the verge of a full-blown panic and this was not what Claire had intended when she mentioned the cost of the meal and how it was coming across. It was obvious to her now that the brunette had not thought of how it might look. But the doctor did not want her feeling regret, nor panic so she spoke up before Fang began to panic.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful Fang. Honestly, you could have just ordered a cheap wine and pasta or salad and I would have been grateful. I just never expected to have such an extravagant thank you thrown my way. I really am a simple gal.”

Claire reached out and laid her hand over Fang’s.

“Thank you. It’s very gracious of you to be so thoughtful. I would love to sit down and have this meal with you, get tipsy and laugh our asses off.” Claire responded with a smile.

Fang took a deep breath and relaxed, scratching the back of her neck nervously.

“I guess I hadn’t really thought about how it might seem. You’re right, this dinner for two seems more like a date.” Fang replied with a sheepish smile. 

Claire laughed, taking the bottle and popping the cork as she poured wine into their glasses.

“I have no work tomorrow, let’s say we drink this bottle dry and get a nice buzz going?”

“That’s the spirit!” Fang exclaimed.

“And if it’s any consolation Fang, even though this isn’t a date, it’s still the best nondate I’ve had in a very long time.”

Fang laughed, but Claire thought she saw a blush touch those tanned cheeks.

“Maybe I can get you tipsy enough to tell me what you like in a woman and I can help find you a good one,” Fang proclaimed.

“Oh, no! There is not enough alcohol in the world to get me to talk about that.” Claire answered as she took a seat.

The two sat down to the prepared meal and settled into talking about their week. Fang mentioned her therapy answering Claire’s inquiry but she did not mention the painful experience that had nearly brought her to tears. Somehow, she was sure that the doctor would know from her own experience, so why go into the unpleasantries. And the doctor answered the brunette’s question about her week at work. It was not as if they hadn’t already known much of the answers, the two had talked frequently through either short texts or phone calls. 

The two women had no idea of the time as they finished their meals and settled into deeper conversation and wine. Fang had loosened up quite a bit, talking about herself a little less guarded and to her delight, she discovered that Claire giggled when she got tipsy. The teasing had been endless as time continued to pass. 

“...So, when the firecracker went off we all scattered in different directions. Our neighbor Mr. Johnson was able to catch everyone but me. He said I was like a streak of lightning and he’d almost not recognized me. If it hadn’t been for my rose-colored hair, I would have never been found out.”

Fang laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her chair. 

“I was expecting you to tell me something about school and that you’d earned the nickname for your quickness from track. I never expected that Dr. Farron had a mischievous streak in her.”

Claire giggled.

“I spent the entire week as punishment cleaning up the mess. There was paint over everything, so after school each day I would go over to Mr. Johnson’s to toil away at removing the paint from the side of his house. The cat...well…”

The doctor burst out into laughter again.

“The cat had to get shaved at the vet. The poor thing was bald for weeks.”

Claire sighed.

“It was an expensive lesson. I had to pay for the vet fees and the paint remover and supplies out of my own pocket. Mom and dad were not very happy with me. I hardly remember that girl anymore.” 

Fang cocked her head in a funny way towards Claire that made her giggle more.

“What do you mean you don’t remember that girl anymore?” Fang asked.

“I changed, just as I changed after the car accident. I suppose people would say I evolved into another person. I really gave my parents a lot of grief when I was younger. They didn’t really get to know this version of me before they died.”

The moment had sobered for a moment as Fang processed what Claire was saying. She just couldn’t picture this version of Claire, not even when she had mentioned it about herself when the car accident had happened and her parents had perished.

“They were good people Fang, they didn’t deserve the grief I put them through. They were hard-working, always thoughtful of others, they were there for Serah and me, and they were loving, kind, and forgiving.”

Not wanting to leave them on such a sad and sobering note, Claire smiled and put the brunette on the spot.

“So, how did you get the name, Fang? Is it a nickname or is it really your name?”

The brunette who had really just been looking at Claire and thinking about her previous words stopped and reflected on her answer. Vanille had never asked her about her name, they had just accepted that this was who they were. Fang couldn’t say for sure if her childhood sister had been curious about it and just never asked. But she had promised the doctor, so she thought about it before she answered.

“In Native culture, there’s the name you are given at birth and then there are the names you earn throughout your life. Sometimes a name is just a title and a given name can be lost to history to where even your ancestors do not know it. It used to be that our people passed down their history from parent to child, we lost that when the white man came to our land.”

Realizing that she was being just as subdued, Fang smiled a toothy grin at Claire. The doctor was wondering what the brunette was up to when she noticed Fang’s pronounced canine teeth and she laughed.

“That’s why you're called Fang?”

“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons. I kind of bit someone and when they remarked on my teeth, I decided to adopt it as my name legally.”

Fang hadn’t gone into who she had bit and why it was not a topic she was ready to discuss with Claire. It had been a profound moment in her life, a turning point for her. Most of it, not so good, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell the young girl that had grown into the current woman that.

“So, it’s not your birth name?”

“No.” 

And that was all she said, Claire could see that it wasn’t a topic for discussion, so she let it go.

“Well, I don’t plan on giving you a reason to bite me, so I will just have to imagine how sharp they are,” Claire replied.

Fang laughed, she was a little too tipsy not to find it funny that she would bite Claire for the reason she bit the other person. The idea was just too ludicrous to let the true incident overcome the ridiculous image in her head. 

“Okay, on that note…” Claire said as she looked at her watch.

“Oh my god, it’s 2 am!” Claire laughed.

“I need to get home and sleep off this wine. Thank you, Fang, I had a great time.” The doctor replied as she stood up to leave.

The wine and the good company had made Fang forget about her current disability and she went to stand up in her wheelchair and nearly toppled out of it in pain. If it wasn’t for the quick reflexes of Claire, Fang would have been on her face on the ground.

“Fang! Are you all right!”

The brunette was nearly in Claire’s arms and she had been caught by the doctor in such a way that their faces were inches apart. Warmth spread through Fang that was more than just the wine she’d been drinking and green eyes stared straight into blue with blazing intensity. Without thinking, Fang’s hand came up and cupped Claire’s face as she brought their lips together in a searing kiss. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang has decisions to make, now that she's kissed, Claire. Worry and doubt trouble her mind, but she can't help but share what happened with the doctor with her adopted sister, Vanille. Will a good night's sleep and dreams of happier times help bring some light to this new situation, or will Fang hide deeper into denial? Claire has an interesting dream, one she unknowingly shares with the brunette, will something more come of this?

Claire wouldn’t deny that she liked the kiss, that she hadn’t thought about kissing the woman or had wondered what it would be like to kiss her. Sometimes attraction made certain thoughts race through your mind at the speed of light and when the doctor had seen Fang’s picture in that magazine, well, she’d had thoughts. Truth be told, the brunette was an amazing kisser and it took a little bit of effort not to lose herself in the moment.

For a woman who had never passionately kissed another woman, Fang was making her toes curl. But if Claire knew anything at all, she knew that she needed to clamp down on those young girl fantasies with the brunette. The doctor knew enough through experience and through school that the distant runner was currently in over her head, and it was one of the reasons she didn’t jerk back from the kiss. It would likely be embarrassing enough for the injured woman without Claire adding to it. 

The doctor was a little disappointed when the kiss ended, a reminder to her on how quickly you could allow yourself to be pulled into a moment that couldn’t possibly last. The logic part of her mind kicked in as the brunette pulled away. Claire noticed as she opened her eyes that Fang had been pulled into the moment completely. And the former sprinter had to wonder, had the other woman used the alcohol as an excuse to let her inhibitions go, or had the spirits loosened up the wall she’d built around herself?

Fang pulled slowly away from Claire, her head still buzzing and everything moved deliciously slow. Realizations hadn’t dawned yet, and her mind was still captured in that moment with the doctor. The wheel bound woman had had many moments in her dreams surrounding such intimacy with her former caretaker. And when the brunette’s eyes opened to look into the reserved blue ones that gazed upon her, her world came crashing back into reality. The heat of another kind erupted like a volcano all over her.

Claire watched the sudden horror start to set in Fang’s features, and for a moment, she wanted to do anything in her power to erase that look. The doctor felt more than saw the results of the embarrassment cover the woman by the mere heat she gave off in that instance, and Claire held the brunette securely as she fought to get off the doctor and back into her chair.

Fang was clearing her throat, trying to cough through her nerves while she fought the rising panic in her. God! What was wrong with her?! She’d finally snapped, but perhaps it was the absence of Claire’s response or the presence of her steady actions that kept the brunette from going over the edge.

“I...I’m sorry, I don’t know…”

“Fuck.”

It was all that Fang could think to say. Had she just lost her friend? Claire, obviously of more sound mind at the moment, helped her friend into her wheelchair and placed her hand on the brunettes. As much as she wanted to cup Fang’s face so that she could see that they were fine, she knew that the injured woman would likely freak all the way out. 

“Fang, it’s okay, we’re fine.”

The brunette wasn’t sure if it was the steadfastness in Claire’s voice or the strong, steady look she gave her, but it was enough to help her calm a little. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Fang looked on the verge of going over the edge again, but the doctor pulled her back with her strong reassurance.

“It’s really okay, Fang.”

“No...no it’s not.” The brunette responded.

“I don’t want this to fuck up the friendship we have going. I feel so…”

“Stop!” Claire commanded.

“Don’t think for one second that I didn't want to kiss you back. You’re an attractive woman, Fang, and there’s this aura that surrounds you when you let your guard down and you’re genuinely happy. I would be a liar if I didn’t say that a lot of people would be attracted to you, both men and women. You’re magnetic when you’re like that, and people don’t have to be attracted to you just for a romantic relationship.”

“If you can find it in yourself to be okay with the kiss, then there’s no problem. I don’t pursue people who are not interested in romantic relationships with me, and I don’t go with the foolish mentality that some hold that I can make you interested. That kind of thinking is the most idiotic thinking I’ve ever heard. You haven’t ruined anything, not on my end.”

Fang held onto those blue eyes as if they were her lifeline at the moment. Claire wasn’t tossing her out and she made it clear that she would never try to pursue anything with her if it wasn’t mutual. As relieved as she was, the anxiety still lingered.

“Alright, but it doesn’t make me feel any less of an ass for leading you on.”

Claire smiled and it was enough to help the brunette release that last bit of her anxiety. 

“And...if I change my mind?”

“Then we need to have a different kind of conversation,” Claire replied.

“Good to know.”

The brunette still had the urge to crawl under the nearest rock, she’d never done this, not even to a man. So what the hell was her problem, that she would jeopardize the possibility of a wonderful friendship for a drunken kiss? With the major feeling of igniting into flame squelched, Fang was still anxious to end this night despite what Claire had said. But the doctor’s quick thinking left no room for any other awkward moments for the night.

“I’ll get the charge nurse to help you into bed when I leave.”

Claire squeezed Fang’s hand.

“Thank you, I had a wonderful time tonight. The best non-date I’ve ever been on,” the doctor said with a smile.

Squeezing her hand one final time, Claire saw herself out to spare Fang any more reason to panic. As soon as the doctor was out the door, the brunette breathed a deep sigh of relief. Her emotions were out of control and she couldn’t tell what she truly felt outside of feeling like an absolute fool. Not a word was passed between the injured woman and the charge nurse helped her settle for the night. 

Would it be crazy to say that Fang felt like laughing like a lunatic and not for any good reason? Running her hands through her hair, she was reminded of the hair on the side of her head that was slowly growing back. The hair that had hardly ever seen a pair of scissors in her life, let alone shaved to the scalp. With shaky hands, she texted Vanille.

**Fang:** I kissed her…

There hadn’t even been a pause or a response before Fang’s phone rang. 

“You okay?” Vanille asked.

“No.”

“Did she hit you?”

“No...though I wish she had.”

“WHY?!”

“I KISSED her, Van!”

“And?”

“And!...I’m not GAY!”

Vanille sighed on the other end, this was going to be a long conversation to a person that was not stupid, just ignorant toward relationships and biology.

“Gay is a term for men, Fang. Please don’t make me bring my college books down on biology, to explain this.”

“No, I don’t need a lecture on women’s biology and fluidity, Van.”

“Then how do you know you couldn’t possibly fall in love with a woman, then? Maybe it just took the right woman for it to happen! I love you Fang, but sometimes you’re a hard head.”

“I don’t know what to think! I’ve never felt this way. I don’t even dream like that, you know…”

“You’re human, Fang. My guess would be that Claire is the first person you’ve met that doesn’t fit your carefully laid out plan for your life. She’s stable, approachable, let’s you into her world as she gets to know you, she’s genuine…”

Fang had grown so quiet that Vanille wasn’t sure if the woman was still awake. When the redhead paused, she heard the frustrated sigh from the caller on the other end of the phone.

“If she didn’t hit you, then what happened?”

“She told me everything was fine between us, and that if I was interested the two of us needed to have another kind of conversation, and then she squeezed my hand, smiled, and thanked me for giving her the best non-date she’s ever had.”

Fang couldn’t see it, but Vanille was barely keeping it together as she kicked her feet excitedly under her bedsheets. No one was obligated to deal with someone else’s bullshit, even in a romantic relationship. But the redhead knew Claire enough that she would wait if Fang was serious about getting her life together. As a matter of fact, she had an idea that the good doctor would be just what her adopted sister needed to get her butt into therapy.

“Sounds like to me, you’re okay then and there’s nothing for you to freak out about. Unless you’re going to flip your lid and suddenly stab her or do some other psycho act.”

“It rubs the lotion on its skin, it does this whenever it’s told,” Vanille cited from the Silence of the Lambs movie.

“Fuck you, Van,” the redhead heard from her sister.

As soon as Vanille giggled, Fang finally chuckled. Leave it to her younger sister to bring her out of a slump. It did not get rid of the fear completely, but it gave her a moment of pause to keep from having a panic attack. She’d been a kid when that had happened, and the vivid memory of the incident stayed with her still to this day. Truth be told, the brunette had done everything in her power to never feel that way again. 

The pause was too long after their momentary laughter and Vanille spoke up again to ensure that her sister hadn’t finally fallen into a drunken sleep.

“Fang? Are you still there? What are you going to do?”

Silence greeted her from the other end, but the redhead could hear the deep sigh.

“I don’t know. I feel so confused. What should I do, Van?”

“Figure out if you really truly like her, as more than a friend, and then get your life together so that you can finally be happy.”

“I don’t need therapy, Dr. Head shrink.”

“I’m not going to argue with you in your tipsy state of mind, Fang. I tell you these things because I love you, and  **_I_ ** know your past. You need to deal with it, or you’re never going to move on or be happy.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Therapy or Claire?” Vanille inquired.

“Claire...and what you said too.”

It was the best she would get out of her, so Vanille would take it. Of course, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t pester the brunette about both issues again when she had slept and was sober.

“Night Van.”

“Night Fang.”

******

There was a  _ whoosh _ of air and then a giggle. The elder smiled and looked upon the woman next to him. She too did not show any signs of acknowledgment to the sudden stirring of the wind as she hummed an old tune long forgotten by the younger generation of their people.

“Grandmother, the wind is restless, like so many of our young today.”

The elder woman squinted and looked toward the sky and an aged look of wisdom crossed her features as she smiled a knowing smile.

“Ah, it is true, but I see that this one will likely come to rest upon her grandfather’s lap for a bit of Three Sister Soup.”

There was a gasp, followed by another giggle before a streak of wind entered back into their presence, practically leaping onto her grandfather’s lap.

“Look, grandmother, Little Highwind has come to visit us.”

Grandmother hummed, before getting up from her rocking chair and walking toward the door of their modest home. The hinges creaked as the door opened, and closed with a loud bang. A pair of green eyes sparkled with happiness and mischief as an older set of brown settled upon them with its own youthful twinkle despite the age set deep within the wrinkles around them. 

“So, tell me Little Wind, who is your friend you brought with you?”

The young girl turned her features toward a head of hair that almost seemed pink in the waning sun. She’d almost forgotten and she cupped her hands and whispered in her grandfather’s ear.

“Lightning, you say? And she’s quick like you.”

A pair of wizened brown eyes settled on their guest, and grandfather smiled at the tiny scowl on her face.

“She seems to be as temperamental as the lightning too.”

The young girl stood her ground, as the scowl remained on her face and the green eyes of the other child looked between the two most important people in her life.

“Claire is my best friend and someday we’re going to get married.”

Grandfather regarded the other girl, studying her closely, a similar mischievous twinkle in his eyes like that of his granddaughter. There had been no rebuttal to the words spoken by his Little High Wind, as a matter of fact, there hadn’t been a peep out of the child. 

“Claire is a better name, softer and wiser, but apparently your future wife has no tongue. Does she speak?”

The young brunette looked askance at her silent partner, eyes wide with the statement, “WELL?!”

“Hello, Mr. Grandfather.”

The elder man held his smile, and felt his granddaughter move closer again and whisper.

“It told her to call you grandfather, but she added the Mister part.”

“I see, she does speak, that is good because there is always a lot of that going on with your grandmother.”

A disapproving noise came from the house and grandfather and granddaughter shared a look and a bit of laughter. 

“Grandmother had made some Three Sister Soup, come Tala and bring your Claire with you.”

A brown streak of hair flew off her grandfather’s lap to clasp Claire’s hand and tug her toward the door, grandfather finally let go of a bit of laughter at the look upon the other child’s face. Was it any wonder that in his aging years that he found hope in his granddaughter that not all things were lost? With a smile, he stood up from his own chair and entered the house. He was looking forward to the interrogation that Claire would go through with grandmother. Age was not a factor for his bride of so many years, if it involved her granddaughter, all were at risk of an interrogation. 

About an hour later, two gaping mouths exchanged looks at each other as Grandmother and Claire talked away as if the little girl had been in their granddaughter’s life forever. By the time they had eaten, the darker haired child was like a whirlwind in the kitchen helping clean, right beside her was her little partner with the rose-colored hair, zipping about the place putting up dishes, wiping down the table, sweeping the floor and anything else that Grandmother saw fit to have them do. It wasn’t long before they had to say goodbye to their Little High Wind, and it was always a moment that brought a touch of sadness to them both.

“Tala.”

“Yes, Grandmother?”

“Be good to Claire, she is good for you.”

Green eyes looked over to her younger partner with curiosity before turning a wide and fang-like grin.

“I will Tota,” Tala responded before running out the door with Claire.

The two elders watched them go, laughter carried on the wind from their home. It was a sound that was bittersweet but filled with hope for the future. It was always a good day when their granddaughter visited, and today was a special day because it had been the first in a very long time.

*******

Fang woke to the strong scent of Three Sister Soup hanging in the air, but as her hungover mind registered the dream, she was struck by a sudden onset of sadness and homesickness. Her mother’s parents had been a joy in Fang’s life long ago. But as all good things seemed to do, it came to an end, much too soon. 

Laying in her bed, the brunette wiped away the stinging tears in her eyes, what she wouldn’t give to have a bowl of her grandmother’s soup and their company. If they hadn’t died when she was so young, maybe her life would have turned out very differently. As she lay there, contemplating the dream, Fang whispered to her grandparents.

“I always liked Little High Wind the best,” she replied to the spirits of her past.

  
  


*******

  
  


Blocks away, Claire sat straight up in her bed, immediately regretting the pounding in her head. With a groan, she laid back down, clutching the pillow close to her face. With as still as the young doctor was, it would have appeared she’d gone back to sleep, until the sudden removal of the pillow from her face.

“Tala?”

“Did I just have a dream about Fang and learn her real name, or in my drunken state did she say it to me last night and that kiss obliterated my brain?”

Claire groaned again, choosing to roll over and plant her face in the pillow. Fang had serious issues, none of which would make for a survivable relationship if she chose to pursue one with her, but Claire’s mind could not leave the dream and the conversation she’d had with Grandmother.

With her curiosity piqued, the young doctor was afraid she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, but the thick haze of a very late night and early morning washed over her and Claire gladly let it take her. She’d process this more when she would be fully awake and sober. 

  
  
  
  



	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang and Claire reflect on their time together through conversations with their nosey sisters. Unbeknownst to Fang, she is being watched by an unknown woman, could this spell trouble for the distant runner, or something else entirely?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't left a note in a while. I do hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy and thank you as always for reading and commenting.

It was just before noon when Claire rolled herself out of bed. The good doctor could say that it had been some time since she’d imbibed any kind of alcohol, but at least she didn’t have a pounding headache or feel the need to throw-up. She and Fang had gotten a good buzz going and had left it at that, not that she could see the brunette ever getting so drunk she was puking her insides out. But that was the problem, she didn’t know a lot about the woman and that was why she needed to speak to Fang if they were to continue beyond friendship.

If there was one thing that Serah would say about her sister, it was her dedication and loyalty to the things and people she loved. If Claire found Fang worthy, she’d wait for her until she got her crap together. It wasn’t that the brunette was lying to herself about her issues, it was that she was lying to herself about the need for help. Whether it was pride, stubbornness, a combination of both, or some other underlying issue that kept her from seeking help, she needed to realize she couldn’t do this on her own.

Fang didn’t strike Claire as a quitter, quite the opposite really and that would be the deciding factor to putting forth the time, patience, and energy into such a relationship. If the doctor felt that there was no way that her former patient would get her act together, she’d never even bother with considering a relationship. Dr. Farron was a firm believer in not bringing your own baggage into a relationship, therefore she didn’t bother with the potentials from the past, or even consider a 2 nd date. If she’d felt that the distance runner wouldn’t even try, she’d move on to remaining friends.

And if the doctor had felt that Fang was a toxic friend, she’d have been done with her at the hospital. Claire knew she was attracted to the brunette, and that it was easy to see the two of them in a lasting relationship. The dream last night hadn’t hurt her former patient’s odds either, in fact, it had done the opposite really. The doctor was still trying to wrap her mind around it all as she climbed into the shower. The dream must have had significance, or else she wouldn’t have had it. The young woman knew her own dreams enough to know when to pay attention to those dreams that were not her norm.

“It’s about time you woke up,” Serah teased as she opened the door to the bathroom.

“I was afraid that I’d have to go have words with Fang for getting my sister drunk.”

The water was already running, and Claire had worked up a lather in her hair from the shampoo when her little sister had entered. Pulling the curtain to the shower back she glared.

“Very funny, do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a drink of any kind?”

“Yes, which is precisely why I said what I did.”

Claire laughed as she poked her head back behind the shower curtain.

“Wow, where is the confidence in your older sister?”

The giggle coming from the other side of the curtain was answer enough to the doctor. She supposed she could give Serah some leeway to tease.

“Apparently, you had a good time with Fang,” the younger Farron continued.

“Not only did you stay out late, but actually slept in a bit.”

“I did,” Claire answered as she washed the shampoo from her hair.

There was a long silence, the doctor smiling from ear to ear as she could feel her sister bursting with the want to know more about her night. Serah and Vanille had become way too gossipy lately, especially concerning the two of them.

“ _ Well! _ ”

“Well, what? We had a good time, drank up an entire bottle of wine, and called it a night.”

“For heaven’s sakes Claire, that part I  _ know _ ! I want the  **details** !”

Claire laughed.

“Serah, you’re awful!”

“That’s not an answer!”

“I had a great time, what more do you want?”

There was another pause, and Claire wondered if Serah had left the room, so she continued with her shower.

“You really do like her, don’t you?”

Serah’s sudden voice nearly startled the older sister enough that she almost nicked herself with the razor. She couldn’t be mad at her younger sister, because she knew that the young woman wasn’t just being nosey, it’s because she genuinely cared for Claire’s wellbeing.

“Yes, I do.”

“Fang is more than just a beautiful woman, Serah. There’s just something about her that makes her stand out above anyone else I’ve met.”

“Did you kiss her?”

“Serah, don’t you have anything better to do?”

“No.”

Claire groaned from behind the curtain as she finished up her shower.

“Seriously, Serah?”

“Why does Vanille get to hear about it, and I have to drag it out of you!”

That got Claire’s attention as she drew back the curtain.

“What do you mean?”

“Fang, text Vanille last night after you left, and she couldn’t stop talking about it this morning.”

“Wait! Fang text Vanille about kissing me and she can’t stop talking about it?”

“AH HA! So Fang did kiss you! And no, Vanille called her after the text and they talked. It’s Vanille that can’t stop talking about it.”

Claire gave her sister a dubious look.

“Why did Fang text Vanille about a kiss? That’s really an inappropriate thing to do.”

“She didn’t do it to brag, she was afraid she’d messed up your friendship.”

Claire gave an exasperated sigh. Yes, Fang stood out all right, especially in the annoyingly stubborn department.

“I told her we were fine! That woman has got to be the most stubborn….”

Serah burst into laughter.

“Well…” The younger Farron said between bouts of laughter.

“…Fang’s in good company then.”

Claire threw her wet towel at her sister.

“Hardy har har, you’re a riot today.”

Serah sobered up and smiled at her sister.

“I’m just happy to see you smile and laugh so much. I haven’t seen you do that with another female outside of me for a long time. And since I’m your sister, it doesn’t count as joy and happiness, Claire.”

“Seriously sis, you and Fang both glow when you’re around each other, that has to count for something.”

Dr. Farron’s cheeks turned red as she finished dressing.

“She’s a great kisser for someone who's never kissed another woman passionately before,” Claire added.

“It would be easy to get lost with, Fang, but she’s got a lot to work through before I can willingly jump on board the relationship train with her. I don’t know anything about her other than what she allows people to see and hear. And that kind of relationship is not going to work with me, Serah.”

“I know, Claire. But I’m sure that Fang will do what she needs to in order to just stay friends with you if nothing more happens.”

“She shouldn’t be making any changes for me, Serah. Fang should be wanting to change for herself. Changing for someone else is not healthy, she has to want to do it for herself. I’ve seen too many relationships, including my own go up in a puff of smoke because of it.”

Claire stepped up to the mirror and pulled out her brush and blow dryer, before turning back to her sister.

“People should not be involved in relationships until they have their own baggage taken care of. One messed up person makes for a difficult partnership, let alone two. I had to learn that the hard way, and I’m not going to do it again.”

“But you’re willing to pursue something more than friendship if Fang gets help?” Serah questioned.

“Yes, if that’s what she wants. In the meantime, I’m good with just being good friends.”

Serah smiled.

“You have some incredible will power, Claire.”

“I had to develop it, I didn’t have it before, Serah. You know that just as well as I do.”

Serah wrapped her arms around her sister’s half-naked body and squeezed. Her older sister had come a long way from her wild and reckless days. Dr. Farron had grown up into a beautiful and wise woman in her younger sister’s eyes. Claire pivoted at the mirror to turn and face the younger Farron, returning the hug.

“I was lucky to have had wonderful examples in my parents and in my baby sister. If I hadn’t had such a strong support group and a sister that wouldn’t take my crap, I’d be a mess right now.”

“Give yourself some credit, Claire. You had to do the change for yourself, just as you said. No one else could do it for you, I’m just glad that you wanted to. It would be a lonely world if I were the only Farron left.”

“And Fang needs to see that for herself, Serah. It’s time for her to stop running from her past.”

“Well, she’s got a good friend in you, Claire, if nothing else.”

  
  


*******

  
  


Fang rubbed the sleep from her eyes again for the third time. Normally, she was an early riser, but after a late night, drink, and dreaming, the brunette just couldn’t get her body awake. For the sake of Vanille though, she’d fight through it. Now that they were in each other’s lives again, Sunday was their day to hang out and do whatever they wanted to together. Today was brunch and the park, and at the moment, the older woman was picking through her omelette.

“Are you alright Fang? you’ve hardly said a word.”

Fang looked up from her fork full of food and gave her adopted sister a tired smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just trying not to fall asleep in my food. You know, some pesky red-head insisted on brunch this morning when I could be getting my beauty sleep.”

“Whatever, you know darn good and well you’d be brooding about Claire.”

“I’m not brooding, Van, I just have a lot on my mind.”

Fang put the fork in her mouth and was actually grateful for the taste of the food. Wine made her mouth dry and she sure did her share of drinking up that bottle last night. The eggs, sausage, cheese, and other flavors actually made her mouth water for more.

“I had a dream about grandfather and grandmother last night,” the brunette suddenly said.

“Claire was in it too, we were just kids.”

Vanille put her fork down, it had been a very long time since Fang had dreamt of her grandparents. The last time was when they were in the orphanage together in Australia. She knew enough of Fang’s customs and beliefs to know that this had to have had some significance. She waited patiently, while the brunette thought through her words. In the meantime, she could not resist picking her fork back up and biting into her pancakes, she could let her adopted sister know she was listening by not taking her eyes off her.

“Grandmother really liked her, the two hit it off. I was a little surprised, I was at least expecting her to give Claire a warning about not hurting her Little High Wind.”

Fang frowned a little.

“I got the warning instead.”

Vanille burst out laughing, much to the brunette’s chagrin.

“I’m not surprised, from what I know of your grandparents they know quality character when they see it.”

“HEY, NOW! What’s that supposed to mean, missy?”

Vanille pointed her fork at Fang.

“It means she knows that Claire is good for you and will be good to you.”

“What did she say to you?”

“That I should be good to her and that Claire’s good for me,” the brunette answered with narrowed eyes.

“HA! Told you!”

“Yeah, yeah, you two must be in cahoots together. How else would you know that those were her exact words, more or less,” Fang grumbled.

Vanille smiled as she ate her pancakes. This was a very positive start to the morning, and she couldn't wait to see where this conversation carried them. The redhead could tell her adoptive sister was in deep thought, despite the lack of sleep and interesting night. 

“Well, spit it out!” Van demanded.

“I know something’s cooking up in that head of yours.”

“I want things to work between Claire and me,” the brunette finally admitted.

“It’s just, I’ve never shared anything with anyone about my past except for you and I  _ know  _ that won’t work with Claire.”

Vanille nearly choked on the food she was swallowing. She was expecting her sister to say something, but she didn’t think it would be that.

“You’re right, it won’t. She deserves to know the truth if you two are going to get serious, Fang. Even if you became good friends, she’s the type of confidant you can trust.” The redhead added.

“I want to tell her, Van. Outside of you, she’s the first person I feel like I can just be me.”

“But?” The redhead added.

Fang sighed, how do you tell someone that your parents stopped loving you, that they started hitting you and eventually, sold your body to support their drug habits. Alcohol, prostitution, and illegal substances were a big problem with her people. It wasn’t advertised a lot, but the mistreatment and corruption of the US Government still prevails after all this time. Nothing had really changed all that much for the indigenous peoples of this land, and the brunette was convinced that they still wanted to wipe the savages out of existence. 

You could see that they still invaded the ground they forced the natives to live on if oil or some other precious substance was found. Sure, they made the news for a bit, but it was usually to cover up some other corruption that they wanted to switch the focus from. Oh, there was a reason why her ancestors said that the white man spoke with a forked tongue and after all these generations, not many still saw the truth. Especially, those whose ancestors helped to take what didn’t belong to them away from all the people. The people of America could learn a thing or two from her people about living in harmony not only with nature but one another. 

It wasn’t to say that they didn’t have their enemies or little wars with rival tribes, they were human after all. But, her people understood their duties to one another and to the land. They were taught respect and the European’s certainly hadn’t earned that. But after years of enslavement, because that’s what it was, the darker side of her people permeated in through their culture. Sure, she could have given in and become a US Citizen, sold out to the very people responsible for the genocide of several tribes, but that was one thing Fang would never do.

As sad as she was to what was happening in their culture, she would not stoop to accepting the ultimate lie from the US Government to become a citizen. Fang had retained her tribal citizenship and that of Australia. How did she manage the last few years in the public light as a distance runner from having people dig into her background? The brunette ran for all Nations and Tribes, and in interviews, it was always that her people were one people. How she had managed not to have something pop up after the last few years was beyond her. 

“Earth to Fang, are you still with me?”

The brunette blinked, realizing she’d gone off into her own little world. How she had gone from thinking about discussing her past with Claire to all the troubles of her people showed how tired she really was. Perhaps it was the dream of her grandparents that had stirred such thoughts.

“It’s a lot to tell her about Van. I don’t know where to begin and how is she even going to feel when I tell her the really bad things?”

“I would imagine, understandingly, just as I know her to be. If you’re afraid she’s going to push you away, you’re not giving Claire enough credit and you haven’t been paying attention to the kind of person she is, at all.”

“I  _ know _ .” Fang partially snapped.

Vanille was used to this out of her sister, even after all this time. But with her training and her degree, it was a lot easier to see the underlying problems that brought on the short temper.

“Fang, I love you, but you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. The problem isn’t with Claire, it’s with you. There’s no shame in talking to someone professionally about it. I mean, how much of some of the issues have to do with hundreds of years of genetically buried suppression of what happened to the people of this land?”

Fang stopped and thought about what her adoptive sister had said. Could there be truth to that statement? Had her people spread this energy amongst those that remained and it was somehow causing issues of anger, denial, or bitterness on top of what was going on with them culturally? The brunette had been thinking about her own personal and individual issues, not something that was much bigger than herself. 

“Besides, I doubt Claire is expecting you to just throw out everything in one single sitting. It takes time to really get to know each other. She’s been letting her barriers down, Fang, now it’s your turn.”

“I want to pursue this Vanille. I...I really like Claire in ways I’ve never felt with anyone else.”

“Then  _ talk _ to her! She needs to hear these things, Fang. I mean  _ really _ , talk to her about everything, and don’t be afraid to talk to someone outside of me for help. As a matter of fact, I insist!”

Vanille stood, not giving Fang a chance to speak.

“I have to go to the ladies' room, and then we’re going to the park.  _ Call _ her, Fang!”

Unbeknownst to the two adoptive sisters, a pair of eyes watched from another table, jotting down notes on a pad of paper. The individual quickly slipped the pad aside and took a drink of their beverage as Vanille passed by, keenly aware of the brunette picking up her phone to make a call. As soon as the redhead was gone, the unknown women slid the paper back and listened intently to the conversation. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fang takes a huge step forward for new beginnings in her life, but will the reporter that has been following her cast a shadow on that success, and a figure from Fang's past brings a sign of foreboding. In the meantime, the girls enjoy a day with their siblings, but sometimes, little sisters can be relentless. It's a good thing that Fang and Lightning love their sisters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being a latecomer to fanfiction, you get introduced to a lot of new things, one of which is "ships," of everyone's favorite couple. Of course, people come up with cute little names by combining the names of their "ship." I don't know who the original people were that started with the naming, and I'm sure the two names used here have been written about, said and spoken more times than I've had birthdays. So, this credit goes to whomever it was that first said these to names...I just borrowed them to have some fun! Enjoy everyone!

Fang had never been so nervous, her body felt fidgety like she needed to tap her foot or twirl a pencil or something,  _ anything _ to get rid of this excess energy. But once the marathon runner committed to something, she never backed down. With Claire’s number already programmed into her phone, it wasn't like she had the extra time to look it up. It was one touch and the phone was ringing. So what made her more nervous, committing to this chance at a new relationship, telling someone else about her past, the act itself of calling to make the commitment, aw hell, it was all of it and she knew it. Fang was terrified.

“Fang? Hey, I didn’t think you would be awake. Is everything okay, how’s the head?”

The sound of Claire’s voice washed away all the doubt and fear like a flash flood. The brunette wasn’t sure what it was about this woman, but it was like nothing else she’d ever experienced. Well, outside of Vanille, but for goodness sake, Van was her adopted sister! Despite the previous nerves, Fang chuckled.

“Just a little bit of dry mouth, but I’m doing fine. How are you?”

Fang couldn’t see it, but Claire was smiling, just as she was on the other end of the phone. Truth be told, the doctor figured her former patient would at least take the day to digest everything from last night, but she was glad to hear from her nonetheless. 

“I’m good. Serah and I were just about to go out and do a bit of grocery shopping. What about you?”

They were making needless small talk and they both knew it. Claire was giving Fang the chance to lead the conversation because she knew that the brunette hadn’t called just for the hell of it, and Fang knew that Claire was giving her the lead. There was a slight chuckle of an acknowledgment as to what was going on, so the wheelchair-bound woman jumped in feet or wheels if you will, first.

“Hey, look, Claire, I don’t need to think about last night. I...I want to have that other conversation you spoke about.”

If Fang could see Claire’s face through the phone, the last bit of her nerves would have either washed away or shot up at an alarming rate. The doctor was smiling that smile that her sister had been telling her about. It lit up the room and made her feel like the embodiment of the living sun. Radiate was a good word to describe what Serah’s sister was doing at that very moment.

“I’m thrilled, Fang. I like you,  _ a lot _ . I meant what I said last night, we need to talk and I have a feeling this isn’t going to be an easy road. But if you’re willing, then I’ll be here with you, every step of the way.”

“The feelings are mutual, Claire. I’m out with Van right now, it’s sister day, so when’s a good time for us to have that talk?”

The doctor did a quick mental calculation and checked her calendar. She didn’t want Fang to think she was putting her off, but her schedule was quite busy this week. Claire bit her lip in thought.

“How doe’s Wednesday evening sound? I would love to do it sooner Fang, but this week is busy at the hospital and the clinic. I suppose you should get accustomed to this now if our relationship is going to go further. 

“Wednesday’s good and I understand about work so no need to worry about me getting all uptight.”

“How about 7 pm, I’ll bring dinner and we can eat in the park.”

Fang laughed.

“What is it about the park? Not that I’m complaining mind you, but yeah, 7 is great.”

“Do you have somewhere else in mind, Fang?”

“No… no-no-no… the park is great Claire. I just said that because that’s where Vanille and I are going.”

“Oh!” Claire laughed. 

“That makes a little more sense. Alright, Fang, I will see you Wednesday.”

“Alright, and Claire, I really do like you. I’ve never felt this way before about anyone else.”

“I know Fang, that’s why it’s important that we have that talk. I would like this to work out between us.”

Fang smiled, not that she noticed she was already doing so, but this one she felt.

“See you then, Claire.”

“I’ll see you, Fang. Take care.”

By the time Fang hung up the phone, Vanille was returning to their table. 

“You called her, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you’re beaming, Fang. I mean literally beaming happiness across the room and you’re smiling!”

“Bah, you make me smile Van.”

“Not like that!” The redhead said as she smacked her sister in the arm. 

“Come on, let’s get you loaded into the car and head out to the park.”

As the two adoptive sisters made their way to the counter to pay, the unknown spy was busy scribbling down information on her notepad. She watched as the two women paid for their meal and headed out to the car. Snooping was something she was good at, and she’d been doing so with the brunette for about a week. The problem was, this woman was a lot harder to spy on, it was like she had a sixth sense. But, as the reporter found, if there was a will, there was a way and it may have taken a week to get something, but now she felt she had a bigger lead. 

The woman rushed to the counter and paid as soon as the two sisters reached their car. It was difficult to walk casually to her own vehicle, especially when she felt she’d  _ finally _ gotten some juicy news. Once inside the privacy of her car, she picked up her phone.

“Ralph, it’s me, Joyce.”

“Well...what do you have? Was he right, was she in a car accident?”

“Yeah, I found the article and did a little digging to at least confirm that she’s in a care facility at the hospital, almost like a nursing home and she’s attending therapy.”

“Well, was she or wasn’t she? I can’t just report that Joyce, I need more information.”

“Hold on to your panties, I’ll get it. Besides, I think there’s more going on than what he’s saying. I managed to get close to her today without her suspecting, and let me tell you it hasn’t been easy. Anyway, she was with this redhead named…”

Joyce flipped open her notepad.

“...Vanille. I haven’t figured out their relationship yet, but they almost seem like sisters… although… they don’t look anything like each other.”

“Joyce!” Ralph punctuated to urge her to the point.

“Fang called some person named Claire… she professed  _ feelings _ for her Ralph! I think our old girl Fang is a lesbian, maybe a closet lesbian or something. There’s more to this “ _ accident _ ” than her ex led anyone to believe. I just know it!” 

“Hmmm…” Ralph responded on the other end.

“I was out to shed some light on her mysterious disappearance, but… I don’t know if this is enough to run a full article on, too much speculation. I need more information, Joyce. See what you can dig up. In the meantime, I’ve got some feelers out for family, friends, possible acquaintances that might know more about her. We’re going to crack the mystery around Fang and be the first to discover who this woman really is and where she’s come from.”

The phone was silent for a moment, which was a minor miracle given the two talking to each other.

“Stay on it, Joyce. I need more information.”

“I’m following them now, Ralph, and she’s got a meeting with this Claire on Wednesday evening at 7 pm in the park.”

“Make sure you're there… and Joyce, if you can’t get close enough without being spotted, use that little listening device I sent with you.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Once you get enough evidence, we’ll confront her with it. I love putting these jerks on the spot, you never know what kind of reaction you’ll get. Keep in touch, Joyce, I’ll call you if I get anything on my end.”

The reporter didn’t even have a chance to respond before Ralph hung up the phone. It was just as well, Joyce needed to concentrate on covertly following Fang and this Vanille to the park. She could do a little reconnaissance while she was here and scout the best places to listen and spy on Fang when she met this mystery Claire on Wednesday.

  
  


*************

  
  


“Who was that?” Serah asked as she entered the kitchen.

“Fang.”

The younger Farron observed her sister and smiled.

“I should have known. So...?”

“She wants to have that talk,” Claire replied with a smile. 

“Told you.” 

“Yes, because you and Vanille have all the answers. While you’re at it, can you figure out a way to get the groceries here without us leaving the house?”

Serah began to reply when her older sister cut her off.

“One that doesn’t involve a total stranger picking it out and delivering it.”

Despite their age, Serah stuck her tongue out before grabbing the keys for the car.

“Very mature,” Claire laughed. 

“I’m not the one pining over an ex-patient!” Serah said as she ran to avoid retaliation.

“Oh, like you and Vanille haven’t been advocating the ‘Fang and Claire’ pairing!”

By this time, Serah couldn’t help the side-splitting laughter. It had been a long time since her sister had seemed this playful. Yes, she’d come through some really rough patches in the last few years, but to see her smile and laugh like this had been ages. As much as Serah thought Fang could use someone like Claire in her life, she felt that Claire could use someone like Fang. The younger sister knew today would be a good day not only for her and Claire but Vanille and Fang. 

“I ship Claire and Fang!” Serah announced with laughter.

“Oh, god. Serah, really? You’re going to mock the two of us like we’re something out of a fanfiction story?!”

“Absolutely, I ship….”

The younger sister started thinking of the popular ways in which people combined names in ships.

“CLANG! FLAIRE!”

Serah had barely managed to close her door and her sides were beginning to hurt. It was so ridiculous that Claire found herself smiling and shaking her head at the same time.

“Get out!  _ YOU _ are not driving in this condition!”

“Anything you say, CLANG!”

Serah burst into another fit of laughter and her older sister had to help her out of the driver’s seat with a roll of her eyes.

“I’m adding duct tape to the grocery list...and rope...just so you know,” Claire added mockingly

“Ugh, please don’t tell me what you’re planning on doing with Fang.” 

“Why me? Is this some kind of punishment?” Claire replied as her head fell on the steering wheel and her sister burst out in laughter all over again.

Despite the ribbing, the doctor could not keep from grinning. 

“I’ll let you know how it goes.” Claire suddenly shot back.

“Ugh… CLAIRE!” 

The car was full of laughter when the two sisters pulled out of the driveway and Serah couldn’t help but believe that things were looking up for her sister’s love life. It wasn’t that the younger Farron pried, she just wanted to see her sister finally get a worthy partner. One that would be there for her as much as she would be there for them. And with Fang, Serah believed that Claire had finally found that. Of course, the two had some challenges ahead, but nothing she didn’t feel that they could face together.

  
  


*******

Vanille and Fang had finally arrived at the park and had found a nice spot by the benches so the brunette could sit on something else besides the wheelchair. Secretly, the redhead had loved going to places like this with her adopted sister since they lived in the orphanage. And the reason why was quickly apparent as a few chipmunks curiously began to edge their way closer to the pair.

“I think if we sit here long enough, we could get every critter in this park over here,” Vanille replied excitedly.

“See, this is why I don’t like coming to the park with you. You use me for an animal magnet,” the older sister teased.

“I can’t help it! It’s your fault anyway for showing me your secret powers all those years ago. I’ve never been able to do it on my own.”

“That’s 'cause you’re a bundle of energy waiting to explode and they know that.”

“And you’re not?!”

“Hey! I just know how to channel it. It’s in the blood,” Fang replied with a wink. 

“Have you shown Claire this superpower?”

Fang laughed.

“It’s not a superpower Van. It’s just that I know how to exude that calm energy and I’m not coming across as threatening. You could do it too if you just tone down that massive energetic aura. And no, Claire and I haven’t been to the park together.”

“Yet!” Vanille added.

“Oh goddess, I hope she’s not like you. I don’t want to be a Doctor Dolittle to her too.”

“Oh hush! You’d be  _ her  _ Dr. Dolittle anyway. Besides, it would be cute seeing all these little guys climbing all over Claire. I want a picture if that happens!”

“Oh, good grief Van,” Fang laughed.

“Dr. Claire Farron, please meet my sister Dr. Dolittle and I’m telling you, she does as little as possible...unless she’s running of course,” Vanille replied with as male-like voice as she could.

“Vanille, if you weren’t surrounded by cute chipmunks, I’d push you off this bench.”

“No, you love me too much for that.”

“Oh, trust me, it would never diminish my love for your pint-sized ness, but it would give me a moment of complete satisfaction.”

Vanille giggled, this was the Fang she remembered, the one she had a few years within the orphanage. A few years that changed both of their lives, something the redhead was forever grateful for.

Parked in a car partially hidden by bushes, Joyce was scribbling with a ferocity and excitement that only matched by her desire for that big bonus if she landed this story. This little listening device had come in handy, not only had she learned a little something about Fang, she had a potential name for the mystery woman in the marathon runner’s life. With a scriptic flair, Joyce wrote the name, Dr. Claire Farron on her notes. 

“Gotcha,” the journalist whooped in glee.

  
  


*******

  
  


Ralph Kensington was an excellent Chief Editor and his wife and partner of 10 years, Joyce was an excellent investigative reporter. So, why would two people that had such outstanding credentials be working for what would be considered a tabloid magazine? The two would tell you that it was because they found all news to be tabloid, and to them, there was no difference between the so-called “legit newspapers'' and the one they worked for. Of course, the one they worked for, was also the one they owned. “Excess Sports,” was the name of the magazine and it was a fitting title.

If there was anything in the sports world that was above and beyond just statistical records, you could bet that it was in Ralph Kensington’s magazine. And even if publicly many people trashed the magazine, he sold copies, millions of copies, especially if he got the scoop before the television stations and newspapers did. And right now, Fang was on his radar after her sudden disappearance from expected competitions. You don’t just start making a name for yourself, set records that only you can break, and be hot on the list as the one to beat and then up and disappear without heads turning and tongues wagging. 

So, when Joyce was following up a lead at one of the big events before the Boston Marathon and everyone’s new and rising star was a no show, his wife was on the story like a hound to a fox. Joyce had that uncanny ability at being at the right place at the right time, or wrong time, depending on your point of view. And this story was a hot ticket item, everyone and their brother would be trying to get the scoop on this story, but Ralph was going to make sure that  _ his _ magazine was the first to break it. 

The editor in chief was busy at his desk when there was a knock on his door. Looking up from his paperwork, he waved the young man in.

“What is it, Stan? I’m a bit busy here.”

“We’ve got a live one on the phone boss.”

Ralph looked at the kid with expectancy, annoyed that the boy didn’t get it.

“ **_AND_ ** ...we have a lot of stories Stan...what are you talking about?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry boss. It’s the Fang investigation. Someone answered one of the flyers you put out at the reservations. He said he’s Fang’s father and can prove it, and wants to know when he can collect the reward.”

“Which reservation and what proof? Do you know how many calls we’ve received on that $1000 reward, way too many to count.”

“Sorry, sir. No, I...it’s on the paper, but...I forgot it at my desk.”

Ralph sighed, he was a good kid, but Stan was just plain awkward and unorganized.

“Oh, but, I did get this off the printer. He emailed me a picture as proof. Only, it’s one of Fang as a child, he doesn’t have any recent photos. I printed it on the color printer for you.”

“Let me see.”

Ralph took the photo from Stan and set it next to a few pictures he had of the runner. He compared facial features, but he really didn’t need to. It was a picture of Fang in one of the happier times of her life, she was small, smiling, and missing her two front teeth. But what sold the picture was the woman and man in the picture with her, there was no mistake where the girl had gotten her green eyes and highlighted red hair, it was the same as her father’s. The clincher for Ralph was the picture of her mother, Fang was near the spitting image of the woman. 

“Transfer that call to my office immediately. I’d like to have a word with this man.”

“Right away, sir.”

Stan was out the door in a flash and Ralph smiled for the first time since they’d started this investigation. Taking a cigar from its box, Ralph bit off the end and spit it into the trash can, he had a feeling they’d just won the lottery. 

  
  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Claire suggested Fang take advantage of a place to stay here on hospital grounds, the brunette had no idea that she would eventually be moving into a place with Vanille. While the two women make preparations for the move, Fang's mind is occupied by thoughts of her "discussion date," with Claire. 
> 
> If there is one thing you can say about her, Fang, is persistent about the things that matter to her. But a little outside help never hurts, especially when it comes from the physical world and the one of dreams. Can she reconnect with the young girl she used to be, and what will become of her if she goes down that road?

If it was one thing that Fang did not do, it was get nervous, about  _ anything _ . When you grew up under the circumstances that the native woman had, you learn to not let a lot affect you emotionally, especially outwardly. But that was until she’d met Dr. Claire Farron, the woman with the rose colored locks, athletic build, beautiful blue eyes, radiant smile and the personality that drew you in. Okay, so she had to admit, she  _ really _ liked Claire. 

Ever since she met Dr. Farron, there has been this draw, like a gravity well sucking her in and she had no intentions of fighting it. With everyone, except Vanille, she’d kept herself at arms length or hearts length. After her grandparents had passed, there had been no sanctuary or safety, so Fang had created it for herself. But not with Claire, with this woman, she found herself wanting to spend as much time as possible with her, to actually share her life with. Needless to say, it was a surreal feeling. 

Fang imagined if she were the type to pace, she would be doing that right now, but she was stuck in this damn chair! This nervousness however, it wasn’t the bad type, it was this giddy child-like glee. It was the only way that the brunette could describe it, the type that made you fidget with excitement, anticipation even. Maybe nerves wasn’t the issue, maybe it was all energy? Whatever the case was, the woman could not wait until Wednesday.

“Earth to Fang, come in Fang,” Vanille said as she pelted her sister on the side of the head with a cloth. 

“What?!”

“I was talking to you and you’re a million miles away. I know you can’t stop thinking about your date with Claire, but I need you here! The papers are signed and we need to get moved into that house, so please concentrate.”

“Sorry, what else did you say we needed to do?”

Vanille sighed, although not that irritated, because she knew that Fang had a lot on her plate. Besides, it was strangely adorable seeing her sister so flummoxed by someone. YAY! Claire, was the thought that passed through the redhead’s mind. With a sisterly squeeze of the brunette’s shoulder, her adopted sister repeated herself. 

“We need to go to your storage and meet with the movers, so that you can tell them what you want to put in the house. Then, we need to head to the grocery store and pick up groceries for food.”

“Vanille, it’s just Monday, we’re not due to move in until Thursday anyway.”

Her sister picked up the calendar on Fang’s wall and pointed to the circled activities written in red. The brunette sighed, where had time gone?

“Sorry, Van. I…”

“...just have a certain doctor on your mind. I know, Fang. Will you just concentrate with me please and we can get this portion of the day complete. Neither of us has much to move and what you have is all in storage, so this should be one of the easiest moves either of us has ever made. Then on Tuesday, I’ll have everything all set up with your room and after you have your date with Claire on Wednesday, you can move in a day early.”

“Alright, run it by me one more time. I’ll listen this time, I promise.”

And Fang sat through the entire 15 minute monologue of Monday activities without losing her focus once, but she couldn’t say there wasn’t a twitch in her eye at the end. By the time the redhead finished, she was on the move again, ushering her adopted sister out the door. The brunette would have been irritated, if she hadn’t recognized that child like excitement in her sister. The runner could honestly say, she understood, it had torn them both up to be separated so long ago. So, it was perfectly understandable that Vanille was excited to be moving into a place with her, truth was, Fang was too.

Leave it to Vanille to infect Fang with her excitement. Once they’d taken the drive out of town to her storage and met with the movers, the brunette was in full swing of pointing out what was to go on the truck and what stayed. Surprisingly, the brunette had forgotten how much crap she’d accumulated over the years. After she had managed all her belongings onto the moving van, via word of mouth, the two sisters were back in the car and once again headed to the city so that they could unlock the home they would be renting from the hospital. 

Vanille had been right, this was one of the least mentally exhausting moves either had ever experienced. With the items in storage mostly packed it was as easy as loading the truck, driving to the house, unloading the truck and placing the boxes and furniture in the respective rooms. After the trucking company left, Vanille and Fang took a moment to take note of items they needed to purchase at the store. 

“Van, as easy as this was, it’s still the most boring thing in the world to do. Moving really sucks, I still hate it.”

Vanilla sat on the couch, most of Fang’s furniture was in pristine condition. Absently, she bounced up and down on the couch, amazed at the way the furniture felt.

“Wow, Fang, did you ever use this stuff or do you just buy it and put it in storage.”

“Of course I’ve used it, why do you say that?”

“Oh…” Vanille looked at her sister apprehensively.

“You always struck me as someone who was probably a slob, or at the very least a bohemian mindset.”

Fang laughed.

“Thanks a lot. Hey, I grew up with next to nothing, you know that. I take care of anything I buy. I don’t like to take anything for granted.”

“Except your relationships.”

Vanille was aware it was due to the neglect she’d received at her parents hands. After her grandparents died, everything had gone to shit for the young girl. She never knew from day to day if there would be food to eat, she would wear clothes that were practically falling off her thin frame, she dealt with physical abuse and eventually rape. What role models outside of her grandparents did she have? She’d never asked about what kind of protection system they had in place for native children on reservations. Knowing some of the things that Fang had told her long ago, nothing really, way worse than the US Government's system. 

“Damn Vanille! Here we are having a good day and you just drop that axe right on my head! What the fuck!”

“I won’t apologize Fang, it’s been on my mind too much and Claire doesn’t know you like I do. Since when have I ever not been honest with you? I was when we were kids and I haven’t changed. I love you too much not to say something.”

Fang’s arms tensed and the muscle she’d been starting to gain in her arms from the chair bulged slightly with the need to work the wheels. Vanille got off the couch and knelt down next to her adopted sister, placing her hands over her sisters.

“I didn’t mean for it to be so blunt, but I’ve never seen you this happy before and Claire brings it out in you. Are you ready to tell the doctor all the nastiness you’ve been through? I know how stubborn you are and you proved to me that you haven’t sought out help for yourself, so how are you going to share this with Dr. Farron if  _ you _ can’t even deal with it? I love you Fang, and in the end it’s your life and your decision. I just want to see you happy, without lying to yourself.”

The brunette sat in her chair, looking up at her adopted sister. She couldn’t deny that everything that Van said was true, because it was. With a deep sigh, Fang took hold of Vanille’s hands while she looked into those light green colored eyes. The one thing her sister wouldn’t say, was how much she wanted to plead with her, but wouldn’t. There had been hints dropped, but now that she was moving closer to actually having a relationship with Claire, the gloves were off for this one moment. It was decision time, because the topic would not be revisited unless someone was in bodily danger.

“Alright, I get the message, Van. But, I’ve never seen a head shrink before, where do I start?”

The redhead practically jumped in her sister's lap as she went to hug her. This meant that her adopted sister was serious about her relationship with Claire. Ironic that in everything the runner did, she did her best and wanted to be well prepared, all except for when it involved herself. Take care of everything else, make sure it was shiny and polished, but leave the issues in your life to unravel you at a level you did not comprehend until it was too late. 

“I’m glad you asked, I know just the right person for you to see.”

Vanille ran to her purse and took out a card. Fang shot her a look.

“You’ve been planning this moment, haven’t you?”

Her sister laughed.

“No, I met her at the clinic and we exchanged cards. You don’t think I  _ only _ spend time with Serah, do you?”

Fang looked at the card, front and back before sticking it in her pouch on the side of the chair.

“So, this Samantha Grey, she’s not some militant person is she?”

“Oh, good grief, Fang! No, she’s not. She actually kind of reminds me of April, your physical therapist. I think you’ll like her.”

“Fine, I’ll call her, happy?!”

**  
  
**

************

**  
  
**

Grocery shopping was easy, it would only be Vanille in the house until Fang was ready to move in. Cleaning supplies were the biggest thing on their list and a few food items for the redhead to eat. Before Fang could make the move, the youngest sister would scrub the house from top to bottom, unpacking boxes along the way. Tuesday, they would deliver a bed for the brunette that would enable her to get in and out of her own bed without assistance. Of course, help wouldn’t be far away if it was needed.

Handrails were purchased for the bathroom and other safety supplies so that the runner could get to the point she didn’t need assistance to bathe. Vanille could tell that the brunette wasn’t thrilled, but it was better than being bathed by a complete stranger. But the circumstances Fang found herself in did not warrant for pride to be in control. 

Although Fang wasn’t technically moving in until Thursday, Vanille had already brought over her own belongings from the apartment she had rented. The young woman had lived a life in a constant state of flux, so luckily for her, she hadn’t been tied down to a year long lease. As the brunette’s adopted sister was busy cooking their first “unofficial meal,” in their home, Fang pulled out the card from the head shrink and twirled it around in her fingers. Her brain battled between the fact that she didn’t have any problems and that everything would be just fine, to the nightmares and wall that she kept between herself and others. 

Maybe there wasn’t really anything wrong and she would be just fine, maybe she just needed a little tweaking, or maybe she was really deluding herself and there were issues she needed to address. There were a few deciding factors that made Fang dial the number; she didn’t want to end up like her parents, she didn’t want to be a bitch to her own issues and end up full of sorrow and regret. Lastly, but certainly not the least of these thoughts, she really liked Claire and she wanted this to work out. How could it, if she had unresolved issues or relationship hang-ups. God, how trite was that?! Talk about a bitch to yourself!

The call ended quicker than she was expecting, but then again, what was she expecting? The doctor took her information, set a date for their first session and Fang felt almost as nervous as she did concerning her burgeoning relationship with Claire. On the up side, she had a date and the start of proof to the doctor that she was willing to do what she needed to do to be whole in herself. But then, why did she feel so emotionally divided and conflicted?

“Fang?”

The brunette was so deep in thought that Vanille nearly startled her out of her chair.

“Fuck! Vanille, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

The redhead cast a wary glance at her sister, observing her odd behavior. 

“I was just going to tell you that dinner was ready. Fang, are you sure you’re alright? I’ve never seen you this detached from everything around you.”

“Yeah, I was just warring with myself.”

“About what?”

“The appointment with your voodoo doctor.”

“You made one! Oh, Fang, that’s wonderful. I’m so proud of you!”

Vanille wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck, much to the chagrin of the brunette. But, how could she even pretend to be angry or put off by the redhead, Vanille had been her true family outside of her grandparents. It wasn’t long before she hugged her back and then began urging them toward their meal. At least she’d ended Monday on a positive note with the prospects of new beginnings in her life, or at the very least a new perspective.

**  
  
  
**

*********

**  
  
  
**

Fang was tucked snuggly into her bed for the night, despite how busy they’d been, she had thoroughly enjoyed her day with Vanille. As her tired body began to drift into blissful sleep, she clung to the thoughts surrounding these new beginnings. She’d already taken a step in a positive direction, and she wasn’t so foolish to believe that you can change if you really aren’t ready or don’t want to. She wanted to honor her grandparents, her ancestors, she had loved the stories of the old ways. Change was needed, and it started and ended with her.

**  
  
**

*******

**  
  
**

Little High Wind sat on her grandfather’s lap, while her grandmother made a new pair of moccasins for her. Tala was always fascinated by her grandmother’s abilities, both of her grandparents really. They had abilities beyond what was ever discussed in their family, abilities that were once considered tribe and family secrets. European people often assigned their own words to what her grandparents did, often derogatory. But to their people, they were their spiritual leaders, the healers of sickness both physical and within the soul. 

Tala had wanted to follow in their footsteps, but many of the old ways were gone and the younger generations that grew up in this new world had forgotten the struggles of their ancestors. Their forefathers had given their lives in order to protect their people and the land, and enslavement into these reservations had been a permanent punishment. But not to grandfather, he said the real punishment was when the people bought into the lies the government told. The final act for him was on June 2, 1924 when the President of this government signed a bill granting Native Americans US citizenship. 

To him, it was the final act of betrayal one could do to your ancestors. He loathed many of the terms that his people were called by the conquerors of this land, but even he enjoyed bringing up their own words to make his point.  **_Native_ ** Americans being granted the right of full citizenship in  _ this _ country! He understood fully what his grandfather’s meant about the white man speaking with a forked tongue. So many lies had they said, that any kind of sense or wisdom had long ago abandoned them.

And now, he looked upon his people with sadness, many tribes forever wiped off the face of the earth, their people scattered, lost, and long ago having forgotten any purpose other than what the white man had offered. A slow death, this was all he saw and there had been a division within him at his old age. He had no desire to fight, it was obvious it had caused more deaths of their young men, but now, they rotted from the inside out like a decaying corpse bloated in the sun. They needed to find a new way to survive that would outlive the US governments slow genocide of their people. The young may not see it, but he did, many of the elders did. Where had their ancient wisdom gone?

But, there was always hope, and one such shining bright light was squating in the front yard, watching the ants on their daily routines. Ahh... the wonderment of life around you before innocence was banished by the harshness of the world. Fang loved all things and in return, it seemed like all things loved her, especially the animals. This was a bright light in a darkness that clouded their sorrowful past, but his little High Wind would discover the truth of the world, well after he had departed it. It had been his hope that she would not lose that part of her, and so, he guided, nudged and taught where he could, even in dreams.

“Tala.”

“Yes, Tóta?”

“Come, there is something we must speak of.”

Tala stood up, glancing at the busy ants before carefully rushing off toward her grandfather. Surely, he was going to tell her a story of the old ways and the days when their people were truly free. Opening up his arms, she nearly lept onto his lap. 

“What do you see when you look out into the world?”

Such a heavy question for one so young, but what good was wisdom if you did not impart it on others? Too many hoarded knowledge in order to hold power over others. But this had never been their way, it was always to teach the young so that when they were of age, they would be stable adults prepared to take care of their family, tribe and themselves.

Tala gave her grandfather a strange look. It wasn’t the first time that he had ever asked her such types of questions. For the young girl, it was like a hunt to seek wisdom and truth, and it was questions she had long ago forgotten. The child’s demeanor changed, and a sadness born of more life than the visage before him answered.

“No family, no love and no tribe, Tóta.”

Her grandfather lifted her chin.

“Are you speaking of the world, or of yourself?”

Watery green eyes looked up into wise brown.

“Both. I don’t like being big, grandfather. I want to be with you and akhsotha.”

“We never left you Little Wind, we were always here...you have only forgotten,” her grandfather replied as he touched the space above her heart and head.

Tala wrapped her arms around her grandfather’s neck and sniffled.

“It’s not the same. I don’t like this place, I want to go where our ancestors are, to be as we once were.”

“And what of the one you said you would marry, what of our people left behind? Have you turned your back on your people, Little High Wind? Have you truly forgotten the oath of a healer, what it means to your people?”

From the other room, Tala’s grandmother began…

“Mother, sing me a song 

That will ease my pain,

Mend broken bones,

Bring wholeness again.

Catch my babies

When they are born, 

Sing my death song, 

Teach me how to mourn…”

Grandfather’s voice joined in…

“Show me the Medicine

Of the healing herbs,

The value of spirit,

The way I can serve…”

Tala sniffled again from within the safety of her grandfather’s rumbling voice and softly said with them…

“Mother, heal my heart

So that I can see

The gifts of you

That can live through me…”

This was how Fang woke from her sleep. 

**  
  
  
  
  
  
**

**  
  
  
  
**


	17. Chapter 17

Sweat beaded on Fang’s forehead and she grit her teeth, pushing her mind to a subject other than the excruciating pain of today’s therapy session. The brunette was thanking Claire’s busy schedule that they were not meeting until tomorrow. At the rate that April was working her legs, and the runner was afraid she wouldn’t be worth having as company for the rest of the day. At this point, Fang wasn’t sure whether or not the river of perspiration running down her face wasn’t intermingled with tears. This hurt like hell.

Claire of course was that distraction to get through the session, but it wasn’t their date the brunette was focused on. Instead, it was the idea of the doctor’s own experience and not just the loss of her leg, but her parents too. Of course, Fang didn't have that issue, she hadn’t spoken to her parents since she was emancipated from them, and that was a very long time ago. Try as she might, focusing on the object of her recent affection could be difficult because April was doing her best to keep her mind distracted too.

“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day, Fang?”

The brunette grunted in pain while trying to answer without sounding like she had just finished running a marathon.

“Ha...besides hoping to survive...you’re torture?”

April laughed.

“Wait until Thursday.”

Fang bit back a curse.

“Funny...you get some kind of...sick pleasure from this...don’t you?”

“Only with my special patients,” the therapist responded with a smile.

Fang groaned.

“So, are you going to answer my questions, or just play Ms. Sarcasm?”

With a grit of her teeth, that the brunette used to try and look menacing, she answered.

“Well, MS SMARTYPANTS...Van has me going....to try out the new bed...but honestly...I think I’d just rather...go to my room...and pass out.”

April was used to this kind of banter, she was actually used to quiet a few different responses. The therapist had been called everything from a miracle worker to a cunt. It was part of the job, and if you were an overly sensitive person, well, you might want to look at another career. In this business, you can’t take things to heart, it was never personal, even though the verbal barbs could seem that way.

“Okay, Fang, let’s get you to the tub.”

“Oh...thank God!”

The  _ tub _ , as April called it was a whirlpool jacuzzi for one. This was something the brunette was acquainted with from being a long-distance runner. You could find these tubs in many sports locker rooms and they were used to help with stiff and sore muscles and joints after a game or sporting event. After such a long session for therapy, the good old specialist would massage Fang’s legs and put her in the whirlpool for 20 to 30 minutes. Afterward, the brunette could be poured back into her chair.

As April helped Fang up onto the table for her massage, the brunette couldn’t help but melt right onto the table. Marathon’s had nothing on this, the runner was spent and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. 

“I won’t be offended if you fall asleep, Fang. You wouldn’t be the first patient of mine to do so.”

“What! And give you a chance to finish me off, perish the thought doc,” Fang said with a chuckle.

As much bravado as the brunette was spewing, she knew and April knew just how tired she really was. Once, on the table, her aching legs twitched as if being shocked with high voltage, but the therapist worked wonders and soon Fang caught herself drifting off as the nerves in her limbs began to settle. The jacuzzi would be even worse, but at least the runner could get a cat nap in before Vanille came to pick her up. 

  
  


***************

  
  


Ralph dialed his wife’s number, anxious to get a hold of her. Not only did they have a lead, but with some persuasion of more money, talked Fang’s parents into an interview. But that wasn’t the best part, he was going to nail that brunette with the surprise of her life. Sure, he could tell by the conversation with the runner’s father, that he was more concerned about the money. 

“Joyce! It’s about time, we’ve got a break!”

“Fang’s parents are arriving this afternoon for an interview…”

“You have something up your sleeve, I’ve known you for far too long for you just to call me over something as mundane as an interview,” Joyce replied.

Ralph’s wife could practically feel his smile through the phone. Her husband had a flair for dramatizing events, and this was with stories that already were full of enough drama. This was Joyce’s reason for the name  _ Extreme Sports _ in their business. It had nothing to do with high voltage action on the field, and that’s all she would say about the matter. She only had to wait for a heartbeat, before her husband began to speak.

“This is what I want you to do…”

  
  


*************

  
  


“So, umm...Van...how am I supposed to get into this contraption?”

Her sister rolled her eyes and picked up the remote.

“It’s simple, silly. Watch, I’ll show you how and then you can do it.”

Fang watched as her younger sister rotated and adjusted the mattress. By the time Vanille had the bed set up for her older sister, it looked like a chair.

“You didn’t tell me that this was a transformer, geeze Vanille can this get any more high tech?” The brunette chuckled.

Fang wheeled her chair closer and took a moment to figure out how best to get from the chair to the bed. After a few seconds of consideration, she set the breaks on the chair and used her upper body strength to move from one place to the other. Vanille smiled and handed the remote to her sister and watched as the bed unfolded and swung back parallel with the frame. The brunette played with the settings until it felt comfortable.

“This seems a bit like overkill,” Fang said as she scratched the back of her head.

“I know, but it’s the only one they had available on such short notice and your insurance is paying for it, so it worked out.”

Fang laid out on the bed and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she felt herself begin to drift off. If this was the place she had to lay her head for a while, the brunette felt it was definitely doable. The longer she laid on the bed, the easier it was to just let go and fall asleep.

“Are you seriously falling asleep on me,” Vanille asked?

Fang hummed from her place on the bed and her sister just smiled. She would have thrown a mock pout, but it would have been wasted on the brunette, her eyes were closed.

“Okay, I’ll go make us some lunch, since you’re abandoning me.”

Vanille was almost out of the door when there was a ringing from the wheelchair’s side pouch. The younger sister almost giggled when her elder groaned, tossing her arm over her face. The redhead nearly skipped to where the phone was chirping away, reached into the pouch, and looked at the caller ID.

“You’ll want to take this,” Vanille said cryptically.

Handing the phone to Fang, the redhead made a bee-line to the exit without another word. The brunette paid no attention to her little sister’s antics as she swiped the phone and placed it to her ear without bothering to see who was calling.

“Hello?”

“Fang? Did I wake you?”

The wheelchair-bound woman nearly sat straight up in the bed.

“Claire? No...yes, sorry, yeah I was resting, but it’s all right.”

“Bad day?”

Fang scoffed, as she propped the bed up to be able to converse with the good doctor. It was a surprise to hear from her, she wasn’t expecting to see Claire until their date tomorrow. The idea that the woman had squeezed in time for a call suddenly made the brunette flush. She tried to ignore it, as she let herself sink back into the reclined bed.

“More, like painful. I swear April gets off on torturing her patients.”

Fang lowered her voice and added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s buried some of her clients in her back yard or in the park!”

Claire laughed, she knew that Fang was just being sarcastically funny. But physical therapy could be no laughing matter sometimes, and you could either find the light side of the situation or be bogged down into self-pity. Although Dr. Farron was aware that the brunette had some issues she needed to deal with, the distance runner never struck her as someone to feel sorry for herself.

“That bad?”

There was a moment of silence while Fang reflected on the simple question. Her mood changed and she let out a breath as she commented with a more serious nature.

“It’s not just the pain, Claire. Yes, I’ve never felt anything like it before, but I’m going stir crazy in this chair and parts of my body are not responding the way I’m used to.”

Dr. Farron listened while Fang unloaded her fears and frustrations about her situation. There was more to what she was going through than just the accident, but the brunette would learn that in time. For now, Claire would listen to her potential girlfriend talk about her ailments both physical and mental. But the distant runner suddenly stopped and paused, like in silent contemplation. The doctor was about to see if she was okay when the woman spoke up.

“Sorry, I really wasn’t expecting to hear from you until tomorrow because of your schedule.”

On the other end of the phone, Claire was smiling and she half chuckled.

“I snuck away for a break. I wanted to see how you were doing with therapy.”

“Pffft...and here I thought it was my charm and good looks,” Fang retorted.

This time, the doctor gave her a full belly laugh.

“It might be that too, but I wouldn’t want it to go to your head.”

“You wound me doc. I feel abused.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive,” Claire replied with a hidden smile.

“Fang, I hate to cut this call short, but I need to go.”

“I'm glad you called, see you tomorrow then?”

“You can count on it.”

Fang waited for the doctor to hang up, before putting the phone down on the bed. It was then she could acknowledge the butterflies in her stomach for what they were. She was nervous, for the first time in her life, the brunette was scared about how she felt about someone in her life. And this wasn’t just anyone, it was an individual whom she had romantic feelings for, someone she could easily see herself spending the rest of her life with. These unfamiliar feelings, were a big deal because the runner had never felt them before when it came to a potential significant other. What was it about Claire?

******

Wednesday seemed to be going with a speed and tempo all of its own. At one moment, Fang was in a panic about how quickly the time for her date was approaching, and at other times, the day seemed to be creeping by at this eerily slow pace. It was enough to make a sane person lose their cool. But don’t ask the brunette about being cool, because Vanille would tell you she was certifiable and sanity didn’t apply to her. Needless to say, Fang was laughably panicking as she swayed between wanting the time to happen and wanting to push it back further.

The brunette had hardly touched her breakfast, and by lunch, she was causing the staff to worry about her. She waved them off with a nervous laugh and went back to scratching the nap of her neck wondering what to wear. Fang was in the middle of a mental breakdown when Vanille entered the room to see her sister on the verge of shredding what little clothes she had on the bed.

“Fang?”

“Aaah! Damnit Vanille!”

The redhead couldn’t help but feel a little empathy for her sister, she looked like a wreck, and it wasn’t often someone caught Fang in such a state. Van figured the truth was, no one ever caught her like this. But the younger woman knew she’d be fine, it was more due to the fact that this was likely her older sister’s first real date that meant something to her.

“If you weren’t so pale-skinned, I’d swear you have indigenous blood,” the brunette replied.

“I figured you could use a hand getting ready. I brought you something to wear.”

Fang eyed the bag with suspicion, she’d been dressing for a very long time and certainly didn’t need any help.

“What did you bring? please tell me that it doesn’t involve skinny jeans...I hate those things.”

Vanille’s lip poked out as she looked down at her own jeans.

“And what’s wrong with skinny jeans?”

Fang rolled her eyes.

“Don’t get me started, the list is too long for me to bother going into.”

Putting aside the mock hurt, the redhead excitedly set the clothes out on the bed. Vanille laid out a dark blue pair of straight leg jeans and a black halter top for Fang. Next to the top, she set out a sheer colored white blouse and a pair of homemade moccasins the brunette hadn’t laid eyes on in years. The brunette wheeled her chair closer and touched them with reverence, unlike anything that Vanille had seen her ever do.

“My grandmother made these. She always had an eye for detail.”

“I thought you said your grandmother died when you were a kid.”

Fang barked out a laugh as she rubbed her hands lovingly along the leather.

“Yeah, she did, but she had a gift for sizing up people and I don’t mean just mentally. She made me these just before she died and told me to save them for a special occasion.”

Vanille smiled.

“Well, I can’t think of a better occasion, Fang. I mean, you haven’t ever felt this nervous about anyone before, have you? It shows that you care about how things are going to progress between you and Claire.”

The elder sister looked up from the homemade gift and looked at the redhead with a tilted gaze as if studying her younger adopted sibling. Fang’s grandmother would have liked Vanille too, mostly the sassy parts she was sure of, but she couldn’t help but wonder if her tóta had something to do with Van’s choice of shoes.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone, not even Jesse.”

“See, you’ve just proved my point, now, let’s get you ready.”

If someone were to pass by Fang’s room, they’d surely hear the “whining,” as Vanille called it coming from behind the door... It was bad enough having to have someone help you bathe, let alone having their adopted younger sister driving them batty with the pending date. More than once, the brunette slapped her sister’s hands away from her face.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Van?” 

“Not even mascara? Come on Fang!”

“NO! I don’t like it, I never have. I’m not going to look like some made-up clown! Honestly, Vanille, I don’t know why any woman wears this shit!”

“Fine! I’m just trying to help…”

“I don’t need help with that! Women have it so backward, in nature, it’s the MALES who gussy themselves up to win the female.”

“Uh, Fang, you have a date with a woman.”

“See! I don’t need it and I won’t wear it!”

“Okay...okay, I think you need to take a breather, you’re all worked up.”

Despite the obvious anxiety from her older sibling, the redhead smiled. Who wouldn’t be thrilled that someone they cared for was discovering happiness? Fang’s current mood was due to the nervous butterflies in the bit of her stomach and those were the result of the evidence that this date with Claire was highly important to the brunette. So, the snippiness could be ignored, because it was understood as to why it was there. Vanille wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck and hugged her tight.

“You’re right, you look beautiful without it.”

“Now, you're being a tease,” Fang glared without malice. 

The alarm on Vanille’s watch suddenly sounded, bringing the two women out of their momentary sibling quarrel. Not that you could really call this a fight, but when Fang was being a sour puss, you knew it was time to alter course.

“It’s time for me to go, I have errands to run so that we can be ready to get you moved in tonight. I’ll be back here this evening to pick you up.”

“Wait, I thought we talked about having Claire drop me off. I already mentioned it to her.”

Vanille sighed.

“You have to sign your discharge papers, remember and I have to sign that you're going into my care at the house. Claire can take you on over after you sign the paperwork and I’ll be right behind you.”

Fang hung her head.

“Sorry, Van. I really have never dealt with this kind of nerves before.” 

“It’s alright, I know where the mood was coming from. Just, don’t let it take you over on your date, okay?”

The redhead gave her sister a peck on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later this evening. I’m really happy and excited for you, Fang.”

“Thanks, you’re a rock star, Van.”

With another big hug, the fiery redhead was out the door, leaving Fang to her anxious thoughts. The vacancy left in Vanille’s wake left an air of heavy contemplation with the brunette. Absently, the runner ran her hands down along her knees until she was brought out of her reverie by the feel of the leather fringe of her moccasins. It was enough to draw her away from her anxiety and focus on this gift from her grandmother. It obviously wasn’t the cheap knock off shoes and boots you saw in the store. These were genuine leather moccasins that came up just below her knees.

It was a nostalgic moment for the runner, as she was hit by the memory of the day her grandmother gave them to her. They had seemed so large in her hands back then and it was one of the few things that she made sure she always had in her possession. Vanille, she must have found them stored in the clothing bags they had taken out of storage. A ping of guilt hit the brunette, she’d forgotten all about them. Thank the Creator she’d been wise enough to at least make sure that they had remained somewhere safe. 

They still looked newly made, even after all these years, but in truth, they should, Fang had never worn the leather boots... As she ran her hand along the intricate beading, the brunette could almost hear the sounds of the reservation during times of celebration and her feet nearly jumped on impulse at the faint drumming and singing of the ghosts of old. Pulled back into the past, the native woman did not notice the guest at her door or the smile upon her observer's face.

“Am I interrupting?”

Fang’s head immediately snapped up, but thankfully she didn’t nearly jump out of her chair this time. Whether she was aware of it or not, the brunette was matching the smile of her intruder.

“No, just thinking.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, no need to worry... _ Doc _ ,” Fang replied teasingly.

The brunette took in Claire’s appearance, and damn if the woman did not look good in even casual clothing. Tennis shoes, blue jeans, and an off-the-shoulder top that was such a deep purple, it almost looked black. The good doctor cleared her throat, drawing Fang’s attention but instead of being embarrassed, there was this smirk on the woman’s face that Claire had never seen.

“Well, I don’t know if I should slug you because you’re being lecherous, or be embarrassed that I’ve drawn so much attention.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about, Claire. I was just thinking about how you make even casual clothes look good.”

The doctor was used to flirting and usually never gave it a second thought, but this was different, she actually liked the person doing the flirting. Claire’s cheeks reddened a bit and she moved past the moment to try and hide the coloring of her cheeks.

“Shall we go?”

Fang nodded and smiled, hoping the rapid palpitations of her heart were not as noticeable as they felt. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
